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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mate — to breed
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mate — a partner
  7. net — for catching
  8. chip — to eat
  9. land — ground
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mate — a friend
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cue — a signal
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. cold — an illness
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cue — a hint
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cue — for pool

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