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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. mouse — for a computer
  2. spring — the season
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. net — in sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. chip — for betting
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. spring — a coil
  20. net — after costs
  21. spring — of water
  22. rest — what's left
  23. deal — a big deal
  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