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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chip — for betting
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. spell — letters
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. spell — magic
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pop — soda
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chip — to eat
  22. pop — music
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wave — of the sea

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