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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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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. drill — army training
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ball — a dance
  8. content — happy
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. drill — the tool
  12. craft — a skill
  13. content — the amount
  14. shower — rain
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rush — hurry
  17. craft — boats
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bat — the animal
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. chip — in a computer

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