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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. land — to come down
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. row — a line
  5. chip — for betting
  6. land — a country
  7. field — for sport
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — not warm
  11. land — ground
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wave — of the sea

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