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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. ground — a position
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chest — a box
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chip — to eat
  19. ground — crushed
  20. craft — boats
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — for betting
  24. can — a tin

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