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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. chip — to eat
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rush — hurry
  6. chip — for betting
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. key — for a lock
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hand — help
  11. key — in music
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. key — the most important part
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. spring — of water
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. hand — in cards
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — part of the body
  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