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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. chip — for betting
  3. band — a music group
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pop — soda
  7. rock — music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitch — completely
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. band — a ring
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pop — music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cold — an illness
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chip — to eat
  24. rock — a stone

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