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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. spring — of water
  3. kick — in football
  4. march — music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. land — to come down
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wake — a trail
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — the season
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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