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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. mine — for digging
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pop — soda
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. capital — a city
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. game — wild animals
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — money
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. game — a match
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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