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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a hat
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. chip — to eat
  5. staff — a stick
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. game — a match
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cap — of ice
  13. staff — employees
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wake — a trail
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chip — for betting
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. staff — employees
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cabinet — ministers

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