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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chip — for betting
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. tear — from crying
  7. face — to confront
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. capital — a city
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bound — tied together
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. face — part of the head
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. chip — to eat

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