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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. mug — a cup
  3. march — music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. track — a path
  12. chip — to eat
  13. mug — a face
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mug — to rob
  17. rash — a series
  18. march — the month
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. ball — a great time
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — money
  23. track — a song
  24. capital — a city

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