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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. drill — army training
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. stock — goods
  12. bore — to tire
  13. clip — a video
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stock — shares
  17. drill — the tool
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — to cut
  20. march — music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — a practice

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