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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. object — to protest
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bank — for money
  5. chip — for betting
  6. object — an aim
  7. bank — for money
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kick — in football
  11. bank — of a river
  12. chip — to eat
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. object — a thing
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. game — a match
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cold — the Cold War

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