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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. capital — a city
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chip — for betting
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cold — not warm
  14. band — a ring
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. band — a music group

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