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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. rule — a law
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — for betting
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. drill — army training
  8. chip — to eat
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wake — a trail
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. field — for sport
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. field — farmland
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. field — a subject
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bore — to drill
  21. perch — the fish
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. nail — on a finger

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