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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chest — a box
  3. squash — to crush
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cold — not warm
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rock — music
  12. tube — a container
  13. race — humankind
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — the arms race

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