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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 ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chip — for betting
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — to go on
  5. shower — to wash
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. shower — rain
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. row — a line
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chip — to eat
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. rock — music
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rock — a stone
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cold — the Cold War

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