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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. land — a country
  4. pass — a permit
  5. land — ground
  6. last — finally
  7. drill — army training
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. degree — an amount
  10. land — to come down
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. season — of the year
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. season — in sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pass — to spend time

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