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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. land — a country
  4. chip — to eat
  5. charge — electricity
  6. chip — for betting
  7. race — humankind
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. band — a music group
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. land — to come down
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. race — a contest
  19. land — ground
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. charge — a price
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. charge — in control

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