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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. chip — for betting
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chip — to eat
  7. branch — a division
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. court — of a king
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. capital — a city
  16. court — of law
  17. board — to get on
  18. kick — in football
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. capital — money
  21. board — a committee
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. court — for sport

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