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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. field — farmland
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. key — the most important part
  10. field — for sport
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chip — for betting
  14. field — a subject
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. key — for a lock
  19. capital — a city
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. key — in music
  22. kick — in football
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. kick — with a leg

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