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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bank — for money
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — a city
  7. cap — a lid
  8. clip — for paper
  9. snap — to click
  10. chip — for betting
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. fine — high quality
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cap — of ice
  16. capital — money
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bank — of a river
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bank — for money

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