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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. snap — to click
  11. bulb — for light
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. hand — help
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. present — there
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chip — to eat
  23. date — the fruit
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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