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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. capital — a city
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. pit — a hole
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. capital — money
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cell — a phone
  18. swing — music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pit — in a race
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bulb — for light
  24. rest — a break

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