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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 ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. capital — a city
  3. chip — to eat
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. clip — for paper
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. field — farmland
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. field — a subject
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. field — for sport
  21. chip — for betting
  22. clip — a video
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. capital — money

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