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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chip — for betting
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. press — newspapers
  6. sharp — clever
  7. kid — child
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. press — a publisher
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. saw — the tool
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cold — an illness
  19. press — to push
  20. row — to paddle
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chip — to eat
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cold — the Cold War

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