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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chip — for betting
  3. capital — a city
  4. mug — a face
  5. file — a tool
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. last — to go on
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chip — to eat
  15. last — final
  16. capital — money
  17. last — finally
  18. deal — to handle

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