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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ground — the earth
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fall — to drop
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fall — the season
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. drill — army training
  10. spring — of water
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ground — a position
  16. scale — in music
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — the season
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. ground — crushed
  22. scale — size or range
  23. game — a match
  24. fall — to drop

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