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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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Word bank
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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chip — to eat
  3. capital — a city
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pit — in a race
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. snap — to click
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. content — the amount
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pit — a hole
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. capital — money
  20. content — happy
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chip — in a computer

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