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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. snap — to click
  5. firm — decided
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rash — hasty
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chip — for betting
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. can — to be able to
  13. season — in sport
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. cold — not warm
  16. season — of the year
  17. firm — a company
  18. can — a tin
  19. firm — steady
  20. can — a tin
  21. rash — a series
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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