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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ground — the earth
  4. squash — to crush
  5. drill — army training
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. land — to come down
  10. ground — a position
  11. land — a country
  12. hand — help
  13. present — the time now
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. ground — crushed
  16. present — there
  17. land — ground
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. drill — the tool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. present — a gift
  23. squash — the sport
  24. chip — to eat

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