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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chip — for betting
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — not warm
  8. roll — a list
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. race — a contest
  11. club — for dancing
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — a container
  15. club — for golf
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. race — humankind
  18. roll — a cake
  19. club — a group
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cold — an illness

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