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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cap — a lid
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. can — a tin
  5. cap — of ice
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cap — a hat
  9. can — to be able to
  10. race — the arms race
  11. land — ground
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. race — a contest
  14. chip — to eat
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — an illness
  17. land — a country
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. swing — in golf
  24. straw — a straw man

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