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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. capital — money
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — to tease
  7. chip — to eat
  8. capital — a city
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chair — a leader
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. date — the fruit
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — child
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. squash — the vegetable

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