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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · wind · vault · cold · saw · rest

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. vault — a safe
  9. rest — what's left
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rest — a break
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. 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