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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 116 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rule — a law
  5. track — a path
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. track — a song
  9. rule — government
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. charge — in control
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. squash — the sport
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — a price
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bat — the animal

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