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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — final
  4. present — a gift
  5. field — farmland
  6. last — finally
  7. field — for sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. chip — for betting
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. present — there
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. file — a line of people
  16. craft — boats
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. field — a subject
  19. present — the time now
  20. last — to go on
  21. craft — a skill
  22. toast — bread
  23. tube — the underground
  24. file — a document

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