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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — a container
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spring — the season
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cold — an illness
  11. dip — to sink
  12. rest — a break
  13. spring — of water
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bark — to shout
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ball — a great time
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. chip — for betting

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