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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chip — for betting
  4. tube — a container
  5. pop — music
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. game — a match
  12. pop — to visit
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mate — a friend
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pop — soda
  21. mate — to breed
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cold — an illness

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