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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chip — to eat
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. court — of law
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mine — for digging
  12. capital — money
  13. current — electric
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. scale — in music
  17. race — the arms race
  18. court — of a king
  19. current — happening now
  20. race — humankind
  21. scale — size or range
  22. court — for sport
  23. race — a contest
  24. current — of water

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