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

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chip — for betting
  3. capital — a city
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bulb — for light
  9. field — for sport
  10. capital — money
  11. kid — child
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chip — to eat
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chip — in a computer

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