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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — money
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — to drill
  12. mate — a partner
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mate — a friend
  16. capital — a city
  17. ground — a position
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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