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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. branch — a division
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — not warm
  9. band — a ring
  10. cold — an illness
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a music group
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a great time
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. chip — to eat
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. staff — employees

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