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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chip — to eat
  3. can — to be able to
  4. key — for a lock
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mine — for digging
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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