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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chip — for betting
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. game — a match
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. game — wild animals
  21. land — ground
  22. hand — in cards
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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