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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chip — for betting
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — farmland
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. field — for sport
  8. cell — a phone
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. current — happening now
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. drill — a practice
  13. current — of water
  14. field — a subject
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cell — in biology
  19. present — a gift
  20. drill — the tool
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. current — electric

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