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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: fine · cold · chest · chip · wave · pitcher · snap · suit

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — to fit
  6. fine — all right
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chest — a box
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chest — of your body
  14. snap — to click
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. chest — of your body
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chip — for betting
  24. wave — with your hand

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