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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. hand — in cards
  3. chip — to eat
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fine — all right
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. season — of the year
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — to drop
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fall — the season
  16. chip — for betting
  17. season — in sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. hand — help
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. capital — a city

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