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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — completely
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. chip — for betting
  15. kid — child
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. rest — a break
  20. bulb — for light
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rest — what's left
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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