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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. field — a subject
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. drill — the tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. drill — a practice
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. field — for sport
  18. bound — certain
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. field — farmland
  21. clip — a video
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. kid — child

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