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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. ball — a dance
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ball — a great time
  6. date — the fruit
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. row — to paddle
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. capital — a city
  13. chip — for betting
  14. hand — help
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chip — to eat
  22. spell — a short time
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. capital — money

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