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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. land — ground
  3. cold — an illness
  4. clip — a video
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cap — a lid
  9. hand — help
  10. charge — in control
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — a country
  23. cap — a hat
  24. charge — a price

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