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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. face — to confront
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — to play on
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. spring — of water
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cap — a hat
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chip — for betting
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — music
  17. cap — of ice
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. spring — a coil
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. racket — for tennis

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