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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. cap — a hat
  5. capital — a city
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. object — to protest
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. object — an aim
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — a friend
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. object — a thing
  21. capital — money
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. file — a tool

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