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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. swing — music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — humankind
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chip — to eat
  8. present — there
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. land — a country
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. race — the arms race
  18. land — to come down
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. race — a contest
  21. present — a gift
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. present — the time now
  24. bat — in an idiom

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