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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cap — of ice
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. last — to go on
  8. mate — to breed
  9. last — final
  10. cap — a hat
  11. field — for sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chip — to eat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. last — finally
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mate — a friend
  21. drill — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. cap — a lid

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