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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bank — of a river
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bank — for money
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fine — all right
  10. bank — for money
  11. perch — the fish
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — a subject
  17. cold — not warm
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. field — for sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fine — high quality
  23. chip — to eat
  24. last — to go on

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