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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rest — a break
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. land — to come down
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pit — in a race
  19. land — ground
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bat — the animal
  23. land — a country
  24. scale — in music

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