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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — an injury
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chip — to eat
  7. game — a match
  8. firm — steady
  9. snap — to click
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. firm — decided
  15. game — wild animals
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. staff — employees
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. firm — a company
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. staff — employees

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