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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — for digging
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cue — a signal
  13. last — final
  14. season — in sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. row — to paddle
  17. capital — a city
  18. last — to go on
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. season — of the year

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