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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. chip — for betting
  4. ground — crushed
  5. craft — a skill
  6. file — a document
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. file — a line of people
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. tube — a container
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. bore — to tire
  19. file — a tool
  20. craft — boats
  21. row — a line
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bore — to drill
  24. row — to paddle

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