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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. 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. chip — to eat
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bank — of a river
  9. capital — a city
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bound — certain
  13. bank — for money
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bank — for money
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chip — for betting
  21. capital — money
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bound — tied together
  24. 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