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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spell — magic
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rock — a stone
  10. capital — money
  11. snap — to click
  12. spell — letters
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. rock — music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — a city
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. spell — a short time
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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