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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cap — a hat
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. toast — bread
  8. capital — money
  9. chip — for betting
  10. net — after costs
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — a city
  14. bulb — for light
  15. net — in sport
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. net — for catching
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ground — the earth
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cap — a lid

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