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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. present — the time now
  4. chip — for betting
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chip — to eat
  10. scale — in music
  11. staff — employees
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — a gift
  18. pit — a hole
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. present — there
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wake — a trail

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