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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. march — the month
  3. chip — to eat
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. chip — for betting
  6. club — for golf
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. branch — a division
  9. club — for dancing
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. club — a group
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cold — an illness
  22. march — music
  23. mouse — the animal
  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