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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. race — the arms race
  4. charge — a price
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chip — to eat
  7. capital — money
  8. charge — electricity
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. chip — for betting
  11. capital — a city
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. charge — in control
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pit — a hole
  16. row — a line
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. race — a contest
  19. pit — in a race
  20. race — humankind
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lie — to recline
  24. chip — in a computer

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