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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bass — low music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. rush — hurry
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pit — in a race
  21. last — final
  22. chip — to eat
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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