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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spell — letters
  7. prune — to trim
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. drill — army training
  10. rush — hurry
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. drill — the tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. spell — magic
  17. shower — rain
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. board — to get on
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. shower — to wash
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chip — for betting

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