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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. chip — for betting
  4. file — a tool
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. march — the month
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. row — a line
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chip — to eat
  11. file — a document
  12. game — wild animals
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle

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