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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. object — to protest
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. land — ground
  9. object — an aim
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. shower — to wash
  19. swing — in golf
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. object — a thing
  22. shower — rain
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — an illness

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