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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 116 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. charge — in control
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. capital — a city
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rash — hasty
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wake — a trail
  13. charge — electricity
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. charge — a price
  20. hand — help
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. capital — money
  23. rash — a series
  24. hand — in cards

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