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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. chip — for betting
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wake — a trail
  6. field — farmland
  7. cap — a lid
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pop — music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cap — a hat
  14. ground — crushed
  15. field — a subject
  16. cue — a signal
  17. pop — soda
  18. cap — of ice
  19. ground — a position
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. field — for sport
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cue — a hint

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