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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. file — a document
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. file — a line of people
  6. season — in sport
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cue — a hint
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — an illness
  14. land — ground
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cue — a signal
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. file — a tool
  20. chair — a leader
  21. season — of the year
  22. row — a line
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cold — the Cold War

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