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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 124 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. game — a match
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chip — for betting
  23. board — to get on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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