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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tube — a container
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. club — for golf
  10. chip — for betting
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. club — for dancing
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. club — a group
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — the month
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. march — music

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