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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chip — for betting
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. charge — electricity
  9. shower — rain
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. charge — a price
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. chip — to eat
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. chair — a leader
  23. tube — a container
  24. charge — in control

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