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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tube — a container
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. shower — rain
  9. track — a song
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chip — for betting
  16. track — to keep track
  17. tube — the underground
  18. game — a match
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. track — a path
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rule — to rule out

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