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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — for sport
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. field — farmland
  6. game — a match
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chip — to eat
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. firm — steady
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. field — a subject
  17. firm — decided
  18. chip — for betting
  19. game — wild animals
  20. drill — army training
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. firm — a company

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