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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — not warm
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. content — happy
  9. chip — to eat
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — the amount
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. chip — for betting
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fork — to eat with

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