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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. hand — in cards
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. present — there
  9. clip — to cut
  10. saw — the tool
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. drill — a practice
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chip — to eat
  17. hand — help
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. clip — for paper
  21. drill — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. drill — army training

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