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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. chip — for betting
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. drill — the tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bank — for money
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. drill — army training
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bank — of a river
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. rest — a break
  17. chip — to eat
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. march — the month
  23. bank — for money
  24. rest — what's left

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