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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. present — a gift
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — to come down
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — of law
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. chip — to eat
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — for sport
  15. sharp — clever
  16. land — ground
  17. track — a path
  18. land — a country
  19. date — the fruit
  20. track — to keep track
  21. present — there
  22. track — a song
  23. present — the time now
  24. drill — army training

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