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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — a series
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — a city
  10. chip — to eat
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. kid — child
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. scale — in music
  16. capital — money
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rash — hasty
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. drill — army training
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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