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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. land — to come down
  4. last — final
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kick — in football
  8. land — ground
  9. last — to go on
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. land — a country
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. last — finally
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chair — a professorship

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