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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chip — for betting
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. content — the amount
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tear — to rip
  11. content — happy
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chip — to eat
  14. plane — a tool
  15. tear — from crying
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pound — a weight
  24. chip — in a computer

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