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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 120 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. capital — a city
  6. chip — to eat
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. track — to keep track
  9. capital — money
  10. club — for golf
  11. row — a line
  12. track — a song
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mate — to breed
  17. club — a group
  18. pit — in a race
  19. club — for dancing
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mate — a partner
  24. row — to paddle

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