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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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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: cold · chip · race · ball · fan · rest · wind · kid

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chip — to eat
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — a contest
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chip — for betting
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. kid — child
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. kid — to tease

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