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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cap — a lid
  9. march — the month
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. march — music
  12. chip — for betting
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. chip — to eat
  15. march — the month
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pit — a hole

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