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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. squash — the sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mug — a face
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. mug — a cup
  8. land — a country
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chip — for betting
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. shower — rain
  19. land — ground
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chip — to eat

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