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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mug — to rob
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. board — to get on
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mug — a cup
  10. chip — to eat
  11. board — a committee
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mug — a face
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chip — for betting
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cold — an illness
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. shower — rain
  23. dip — to sink
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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