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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: can · cold · straw · game · rest · chip · deal · drill

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cold — an illness
  4. drill — a practice
  5. game — a match
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. chip — to eat
  9. game — wild animals
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. drill — army training
  22. rest — a break
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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