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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chip — for betting
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bat — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wake — a trail
  11. march — the month
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chair — a leader
  22. game — a match
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chip — in a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com