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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. rule — a law
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pound — a weight
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rule — government
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. net — for catching
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. file — a tool
  17. net — after costs
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. wake — a trail
  20. file — a document
  21. net — in sport
  22. foot — a measure
  23. file — a line of people
  24. foot — the bottom

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