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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. charge — a price
  3. cold — an illness
  4. charge — electricity
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. race — a contest
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. charge — in control
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. chip — to eat

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