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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chip — for betting
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mate — a friend
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bat — the animal
  12. kid — child
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. craft — boats
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — a city
  22. clip — for paper
  23. craft — a skill
  24. chip — to eat

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