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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chip — for betting
  10. staff — a stick
  11. branch — a division
  12. cell — in biology
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chip — to eat
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cell — a phone
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. deal — to handle

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