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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. last — final
  8. march — music
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. ball — a dance
  17. last — finally
  18. bark — to shout
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. march — the month
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chip — in a computer

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