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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bank — of a river
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. chip — for betting
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bank — for money
  17. rash — a series
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bank — for money
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wake — a trail

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