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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. club — a group
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. dip — to sink
  8. drill — the tool
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. snap — to click
  15. drill — army training
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. club — for golf
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mine — for digging
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. chip — in a computer

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