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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. date — the fruit
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. wake — a trail
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. band — a music group
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a ring
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — the Cold War

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