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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. track — to keep track
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chip — for betting
  9. track — a path
  10. dip — to sink
  11. field — a subject
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. track — a song
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. field — for sport
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — farmland
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cold — not warm
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. dip — to dunk

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