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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chip — to eat
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chip — for betting
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. track — to keep track
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. game — a match
  18. present — the time now
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. last — final
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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