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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. face — to point toward
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — a law
  8. capital — a city
  9. wake — a trail
  10. capital — money
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. face — to confront
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rule — government
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chip — for betting
  23. face — part of the head
  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