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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 116 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pit — in a race
  4. land — ground
  5. net — in sport
  6. rock — a stone
  7. net — for catching
  8. rock — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pit — a hole
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cap — of ice
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chip — for betting
  22. land — to come down
  23. cap — a lid
  24. land — a country

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