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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. squash — to crush
  22. kid — child
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. chip — to eat

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