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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 120 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chip — for betting
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. lean — thin
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lean — to bend
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a document
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bass — low music
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bass — the fish
  20. drill — the tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. file — a tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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