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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. capital — a city
  3. board — to get on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. pass — a permit
  9. file — a document
  10. board — a committee
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. content — happy
  13. capital — money
  14. file — a line of people
  15. content — the amount
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. content — videos and posts

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