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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. season — in sport
  5. drill — the tool
  6. season — of the year
  7. track — a path
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — the animal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fine — all right
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. drill — army training
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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