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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chip — for betting
  5. squash — to crush
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — in golf
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bat — the animal
  20. foot — a measure
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. squash — the sport

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