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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. chip — for betting
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. foot — a measure
  9. row — a line
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. spell — magic
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bear — the animal
  17. drill — army training
  18. net — after costs
  19. drill — the tool
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mine — for digging
  22. spell — a short time
  23. drill — a practice
  24. net — in sport

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