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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chip — to eat
  3. capital — a city
  4. game — wild animals
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chip — for betting
  7. charge — in control
  8. squash — to crush
  9. can — a tin
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. game — a match
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wind — moving air
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. squash — the sport
  16. charge — electricity
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. can — a tin
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. capital — money
  21. wind — moving air
  22. can — to be able to
  23. tube — a container
  24. charge — a price

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