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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: chip · cold · object · content · pop · present · wave · fine

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. object — to protest
  4. content — the amount
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. object — an aim
  8. present — the time now
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — happy
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. chip — for betting
  18. pop — soda
  19. chip — to eat
  20. fine — all right
  21. present — there
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cold — an illness
  24. object — a thing

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