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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chip — for betting
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chip — to eat
  6. current — happening now
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. current — electric
  13. kid — child
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. degree — an amount
  17. current — of water
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. degree — temperature
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. hide — to keep secret

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