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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. capital — a city
  5. chip — for betting
  6. season — in sport
  7. bear — the animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. game — a match
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. game — wild animals
  12. firm — decided
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. season — of the year
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. land — ground
  17. bear — the animal
  18. land — a country
  19. capital — money
  20. wake — a trail
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. firm — steady
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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