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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cold — not warm
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. current — happening now
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bass — low music
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. current — electric
  16. cue — a signal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. current — of water
  19. content — the amount
  20. track — a path
  21. chip — to eat
  22. track — a song
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cue — a hint

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