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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wind — moving air
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. file — a document
  15. ball — a great time
  16. chip — to eat
  17. file — a tool
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chip — for betting
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. sharp — clever

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