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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. object — a thing
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. object — to protest
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pass — a permit
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. object — an aim
  10. row — a line
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. capital — a city
  13. wound — an injury
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pound — a weight
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. chip — to eat
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — money
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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