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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. land — a country
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. race — the arms race
  10. row — a line
  11. land — to come down
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. chip — for betting
  14. fine — high quality
  15. land — ground
  16. race — a contest
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. fine — all right
  19. face — to point toward
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. race — humankind

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