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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 120 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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468
Word bank
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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. drill — army training
  3. chip — to eat
  4. drill — the tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chip — for betting
  10. ground — crushed
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. cell — in biology
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. shower — rain
  19. ground — the earth
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — a phone

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