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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. staff — employees
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. sharp — clever
  16. staff — employees
  17. cap — a lid
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rush — hurry
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. chip — in a computer

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