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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. roll — a cake
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — a division
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cap — a lid
  17. roll — a list
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rush — to hurry

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