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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. march — the month
  3. chip — for betting
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — the underground
  6. track — a song
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ball — a great time
  9. track — to keep track
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stock — goods
  12. last — final
  13. stock — shares
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. chip — to eat
  16. last — to go on
  17. march — music
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. row — a line
  20. last — finally
  21. ball — a dance
  22. track — a path
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. ball — a round shape

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