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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: race · key · cold · current · dip · wound · chip · bowl

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. key — for a lock
  5. current — electric
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. key — the most important part
  9. current — of water
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chip — for betting
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cold — an illness
  16. key — in music
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. current — happening now
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — a contest
  24. bowl — a dish

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