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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. capital — a city
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — boats
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — money
  9. vault — a safe
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — all right
  18. craft — a skill

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