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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. march — music
  2. land — ground
  3. bat — the animal
  4. file — a document
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a tool
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. land — a country
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rule — government
  12. current — electric
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. march — the month
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. land — to come down
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chip — for betting
  22. current — of water
  23. current — happening now
  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