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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. roll — a cake
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. object — a thing
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chip — for betting
  10. net — for catching
  11. clip — to cut
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. net — in sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. net — after costs
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. clip — a video
  24. roll — a list

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