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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. present — a gift
  3. land — a country
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. key — the most important part
  6. swing — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. swing — in golf
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — to eat
  11. tear — to rip
  12. key — in music
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. cap — of ice
  16. swing — to play on
  17. key — for a lock
  18. land — to come down
  19. chip — for betting
  20. present — there
  21. last — finally
  22. land — ground
  23. present — the time now
  24. cap — a hat

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