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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. club — for golf
  4. staff — employees
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. court — for sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. staff — employees
  12. file — a tool
  13. court — of law
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — a group
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pitch — completely
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. file — a line of people
  23. court — of a king
  24. file — a document

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