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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chip — for betting
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. clip — to cut
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bank — for money
  11. chip — to eat
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bank — for money
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bank — of a river
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — for paper
  18. capital — money
  19. spell — magic
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — letters

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