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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. march — the month
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chip — to eat
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. swing — in golf
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — child
  18. mark — a grade
  19. bulb — for light
  20. mark — a trace
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bulb — of a plant

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