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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. file — a document
  3. rule — government
  4. field — for sport
  5. drill — army training
  6. prune — to trim
  7. drill — a practice
  8. field — farmland
  9. chip — to eat
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. file — a tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. chip — for betting
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. field — a subject
  19. file — a line of people
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. drill — the tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pass — to spend time

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