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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rush — hurry
  5. chip — for betting
  6. club — for golf
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cell — a phone
  9. club — a group
  10. net — for catching
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. net — after costs
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. club — for dancing
  18. net — in sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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