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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spell — a short time
  5. staff — employees
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. hand — help
  8. file — a tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spell — letters
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a line of people
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chip — to eat
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. file — a document
  24. bat — in an idiom

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