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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. march — music
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. march — the month
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. mug — a face
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mug — to rob
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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