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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chip — to eat
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rush — hurry

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