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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. chip — for betting
  4. squash — the sport
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mark — a grade
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pound — a weight
  11. drill — the tool
  12. row — a line
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chip — to eat
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mark — a trace
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pound — to hit hard

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