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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. row — a line
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chip — for betting
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pit — a hole
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chip — to eat
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. field — for sport
  21. pit — in a race
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. capital — a big letter

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