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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: drill · root · fall · leaves · chip · file · spring · last

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. last — to go on
  3. file — a line of people
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. drill — a practice
  9. file — a document
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a tool
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. fall — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. drill — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. last — final
  24. drill — army training

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