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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 116 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chip — to eat
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. deal — to handle
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. deal — an agreement

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