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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 120 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chip — to eat
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rock — music
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bear — the animal
  13. squash — the sport
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bear — the animal
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chip — for betting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mate — to breed
  23. row — a line
  24. mate — a friend

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