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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chip — to eat
  5. ground — crushed
  6. spell — letters
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — a position
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. spell — a short time
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spell — magic
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. snap — to click
  24. ground — the earth

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