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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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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. row — a line
  8. pop — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. lean — thin
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. chip — for betting
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bank — of a river
  18. lean — to bend
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. ruler — for measuring

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