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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. charge — electricity
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. charge — a price
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — to come down
  9. charge — in control
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. band — a music group
  14. squash — to crush
  15. land — a country
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. land — ground
  18. chip — for betting
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. squash — the sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chip — to eat

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