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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chip — to eat
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. file — a line of people
  9. track — a song
  10. prune — to trim
  11. track — to keep track
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a tool
  17. deal — to handle
  18. track — a path
  19. mine — for digging
  20. drill — army training
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. file — a document
  23. drill — the tool
  24. deal — a big deal

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