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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. rule — government
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pit — a hole
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rule — a law
  18. pit — in a race
  19. cold — an illness
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lean — thin
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. sharp — with an edge

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