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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 120 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. march — the month
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chip — for betting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — moving air
  12. charge — in control
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — a price
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. march — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chip — to eat

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