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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. land — to come down
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chip — for betting
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cue — a signal
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — an illness
  18. land — a country
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a document
  24. land — ground

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