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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. last — finally
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chip — for betting
  9. last — to go on
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. drill — army training
  12. wax — to grow
  13. degree — temperature
  14. last — final
  15. chip — to eat
  16. drill — the tool
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop

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