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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pass — a permit
  7. file — a document
  8. chip — for betting
  9. file — a tool
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a line of people
  12. present — there
  13. spring — of water
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. present — a gift
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bat — the animal
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. present — the time now
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spring — the season

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