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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — boats
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rule — government
  16. chip — to eat
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. mine — for digging
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rule — a law

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