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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cap — of ice
  9. drill — army training
  10. craft — boats
  11. chip — for betting
  12. land — ground
  13. ground — crushed
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. land — a country
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — a hat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. land — to come down

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