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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. game — wild animals
  4. drill — the tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. chip — to eat
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. track — to keep track
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chip — for betting
  13. track — a song
  14. land — ground
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. land — a country
  18. pound — a weight
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. game — a match
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. branch — a division
  24. drill — army training

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