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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: cue · race · chip · wake · bulb · craft · bat · cold

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cold — an illness
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — humankind
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bat — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cue — a hint
  21. craft — boats
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. race — the arms race

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