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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. drill — army training
  4. mark — a trace
  5. last — finally
  6. race — a contest
  7. chip — to eat
  8. drill — the tool
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. ground — crushed
  12. last — final
  13. file — a document
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. file — a tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mark — a grade
  20. last — to go on
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. ground — the earth
  24. race — humankind

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