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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · drill · leaves · nail · march · race · bay · chip

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. game — a match
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. chip — for betting
  8. drill — the tool
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — humankind
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. drill — army training
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. game — wild animals
  19. race — a contest
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. chip — to eat
  22. march — the month
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. race — the arms race

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