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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cold — an illness
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. race — the arms race
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. race — humankind
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. current — electric

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