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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · mine · face · pass · chip · game · last · bat

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. last — to go on
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bat — the animal
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. board — to get on
  17. face — to confront
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. board — a committee
  20. last — final
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. last — finally

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