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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chip — to eat
  3. kid — to tease
  4. board — a committee
  5. capital — a city
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cell — in biology
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cell — a phone
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chip — for betting
  15. capital — money
  16. board — to get on
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cell — in a prison

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