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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kick — in football
  3. spell — letters
  4. chest — a box
  5. charge — electricity
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chest — of your body
  8. charge — in control
  9. spell — a short time
  10. charge — a price
  11. field — for sport
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — clever
  16. chip — to eat
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — for betting
  22. field — farmland
  23. spell — magic
  24. sharp — exactly

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