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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chip — for betting
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chip — to eat
  7. last — to go on
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — final
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. face — to point toward
  16. rule — a law
  17. snap — to click
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rule — government
  21. last — finally
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — part of the head

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