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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 120 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. ground — a position
  3. file — a tool
  4. craft — a skill
  5. file — a document
  6. fall — the season
  7. net — after costs
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wax — to grow
  12. craft — boats
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chip — to eat
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. file — a line of people
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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