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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. drill — a practice
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chip — for betting
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bat — the animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. game — wild animals
  13. ground — crushed
  14. season — of the year
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. drill — army training
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. ground — a position
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. swing — music
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. season — in sport

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