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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 124 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chip — for betting
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. chip — to eat
  21. date — the fruit
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. game — wild animals
  24. date — on the calendar

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