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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chip — to eat
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. capital — a city
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. chip — for betting
  10. current — of water
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. current — happening now
  13. game — wild animals
  14. clip — a video
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. kick — in football
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. clip — for paper
  20. capital — money
  21. current — electric
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. game — a match
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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