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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. rule — government
  11. spell — magic
  12. scale — size or range
  13. last — final
  14. chip — to eat
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. spell — letters
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — to go on
  20. rule — a law
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chip — for betting
  24. last — finally

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