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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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Word bank
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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: mine · saw · last · deal · chip · hide · court · cold

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. last — finally
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. court — of a king
  4. last — to go on
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. court — of law
  8. mine — for digging
  9. last — final
  10. cold — not warm
  11. saw — the tool
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chip — to eat
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. court — for sport
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. hide — animal skin
  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