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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chip — to eat
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cold — not warm
  5. charge — electricity
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. spring — the season
  8. cue — a signal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spring — of water
  15. cue — a hint
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. charge — a price
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. charge — in control
  22. tear — to rip
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chip — for betting

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