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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. charge — a price
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. snap — to click
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — an illness
  12. charge — in control
  13. chip — for betting
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chip — to eat
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. charge — electricity
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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