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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. court — for sport
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. roll — a cake
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. roll — a list
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — a container
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. chip — to eat
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of a king
  24. bark — to shout

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