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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. chip — for betting
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cell — a phone
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. club — for golf
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. club — a group
  18. drill — the tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. club — for dancing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bark — to shout

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