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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 120 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. saw — the tool
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cold — an illness
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — to eat
  15. track — a song
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. board — a committee
  18. track — a path
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. cold — not warm
  21. board — to get on
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. saw — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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