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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. chip — for betting
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. content — happy
  8. cold — an illness
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — the amount
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. game — a match
  13. march — music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cap — a hat
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cap — of ice
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cold — not warm
  24. dip — a sauce

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