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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. staff — employees
  3. ground — crushed
  4. game — a match
  5. object — an aim
  6. ground — the earth
  7. staff — employees
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — not warm
  11. staff — a stick
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cold — an illness
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chip — to eat
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. saw — the tool
  22. club — for golf
  23. ground — a position
  24. club — for dancing

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