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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. last — final
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. spell — magic
  8. field — a subject
  9. spell — letters
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — finally
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. last — to go on
  15. field — for sport
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spell — a short time
  20. plane — a tool
  21. squash — the sport
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pit — in a race
  24. straw — dry grass

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