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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chip — to eat
  11. can — a tin
  12. net — in sport
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. cold — not warm
  16. net — after costs
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hand — help
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pitch — completely
  24. net — for catching

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