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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: last · fall · rock · cold · chip · mouse · present · kid

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. last — to go on
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. present — there
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. last — final
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cold — an illness
  13. last — finally
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chip — to eat
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rock — a stone
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rock — music
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — child

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