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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bank — of a river
  3. chip — to eat
  4. file — a tool
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — humankind
  10. fork — in a road
  11. race — a contest
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bank — for money
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. race — the arms race
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. chip — for betting

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