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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chip — to eat
  4. spell — a short time
  5. drill — army training
  6. march — the month
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spell — letters
  10. degree — from a university
  11. drill — the tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spell — magic
  18. degree — temperature
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — music
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. march — the month
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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