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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. shower — rain
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spell — magic
  5. last — to go on
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. tube — a container
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. bound — tied together
  13. chip — for betting
  14. last — final
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spell — letters
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bound — certain
  20. last — finally
  21. tube — the underground
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bound — obliged

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