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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — a song
  11. race — humankind
  12. chest — of your body
  13. track — a path
  14. pitch — completely
  15. track — to keep track
  16. race — the arms race
  17. dip — to sink
  18. chest — a box
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cold — not warm
  21. race — a contest
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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