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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. chip — to eat
  3. net — for catching
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. net — in sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rush — hurry
  15. net — after costs
  16. drill — army training
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pound — a weight
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  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