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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mug — to rob
  6. stock — shares
  7. last — final
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stock — goods
  10. chip — for betting
  11. drill — army training
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. chip — to eat
  15. mug — a cup
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chip — in a computer

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