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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. club — for golf
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. march — the month
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wound — an injury
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. prune — to trim
  17. march — music
  18. rash — a series
  19. march — the month
  20. prune — to trim
  21. club — a group
  22. cold — not warm
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — an illness

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