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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chip — for betting
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ground — crushed
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cap — a lid
  11. mate — a friend
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. clip — a video
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cap — a hat
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. foot — part of the body

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