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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. can — a tin
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. chip — for betting
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. file — a tool
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. can — a tin
  13. file — a line of people
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. can — to be able to
  21. current — of water
  22. file — a document
  23. foot — a measure
  24. march — the month

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