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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chip — for betting
  3. last — finally
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chip — to eat
  7. staff — employees
  8. pound — a weight
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pitch — completely
  11. staff — employees
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. capital — money
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. capital — a city
  17. last — final
  18. staff — a stick
  19. snap — to click
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. last — to go on
  24. capital — a big letter

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