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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rock — music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — finally
  17. rock — a stone
  18. last — to go on
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. last — final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cell — a phone

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