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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — a coil
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bass — low music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. face — to confront
  9. saw — the tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. drill — the tool
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. face — to point toward
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. bass — the fish
  22. drill — a practice
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fork — in a road

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