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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. capital — money
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chip — to eat
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cold — not warm
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a city
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. chip — for betting

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