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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bound — certain
  7. present — there
  8. face — to confront
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cold — not warm
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bound — obliged
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chip — to eat
  15. present — the time now
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. present — a gift

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