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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cap — a lid
  4. chip — for betting
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chip — to eat
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mark — a grade
  20. kid — to tease
  21. clip — a video
  22. mark — a trace
  23. kid — child
  24. cold — not warm

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