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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bore — to tire
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chip — for betting
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. pit — in a race
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bore — to drill
  15. sharp — clever
  16. vault — a safe
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. swing — music

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