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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. file — a document
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. row — a line
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — a city
  20. file — a line of people
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stand — to bear
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. file — a tool

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