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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. present — there
  5. game — wild animals
  6. present — a gift
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. present — the time now
  12. chip — to eat
  13. game — a match
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cue — for pool
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wind — moving air
  21. branch — a division
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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