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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. mark — a trace
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. board — a committee
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. land — a country
  11. mug — a face
  12. board — to get on
  13. chip — to eat
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. capital — money
  18. mug — to rob
  19. land — ground
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. capital — a city
  23. land — to come down
  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