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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. drill — the tool
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rule — government
  10. kid — child
  11. drill — army training
  12. chip — for betting
  13. file — a tool
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rule — a law
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. file — a document
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chip — to eat
  21. drill — a practice
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chip — in a computer

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