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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — in golf
  4. scale — size or range
  5. swing — music
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ball — a great time
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. ball — a dance
  18. present — a gift
  19. pass — a permit
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cold — an illness

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