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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. firm — steady
  3. hand — in cards
  4. club — for golf
  5. chip — for betting
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hand — help
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. firm — a company
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. firm — decided
  20. club — for dancing
  21. press — a publisher
  22. club — a group
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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