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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. capital — a city
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. prune — to trim
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cell — in biology
  8. vault — a safe
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cell — a phone
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. degree — temperature
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. snap — to click
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — for betting
  23. prune — to trim
  24. degree — from a university

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