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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chip — for betting
  9. drill — the tool
  10. chip — to eat
  11. spell — letters
  12. last — finally
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — a short time
  16. drill — army training
  17. wind — moving air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. spell — magic
  24. cabinet — ministers

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