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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rash — a series
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cold — an illness
  13. suit — in cards
  14. chip — to eat
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. rash — hasty
  17. clip — a video
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. suit — clothes
  22. clip — to cut
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. chest — a box

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