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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. craft — a skill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. chip — to eat
  17. vault — a safe
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. clip — a video
  21. craft — boats
  22. tube — the underground
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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