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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 116 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. track — a song
  3. tube — a container
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — to go on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. chip — to eat
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. last — final
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. track — a path
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. last — finally
  24. tube — the underground

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