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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. firm — steady
  3. date — the fruit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wound — an injury
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. firm — decided
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. firm — a company
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cold — an illness
  22. land — ground
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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