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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · shower · cold · stick · ball · sharp · key · track

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. shower — to wash
  3. ball — a great time
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. shower — rain
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. track — a song
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. key — for a lock
  16. chip — for betting
  17. ball — a dance
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. sharp — clever
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cold — not warm
  24. key — in music

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