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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. cold — not warm
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bound — certain
  7. root — of a plant
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chip — for betting
  10. board — to get on
  11. root — the cause
  12. cap — of ice
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bound — tied together
  17. pitch — completely
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. root — of a word
  21. capital — money
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cap — a lid
  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