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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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 — a city
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. game — wild animals
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — money
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. foot — a measure
  9. game — a match
  10. chip — for betting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. field — a subject
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. roll — a cake
  18. field — farmland
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. roll — a list
  22. field — for sport
  23. foot — the bottom
  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