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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. ground — the earth
  3. field — for sport
  4. chip — to eat
  5. kid — child
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — to tease
  9. file — a line of people
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. capital — a city
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. capital — money
  19. field — a subject
  20. file — a document
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. field — farmland
  24. bay — a horse colour

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