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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spell — letters
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chip — to eat
  9. spell — magic
  10. suit — to fit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chip — for betting
  13. suit — in cards
  14. suit — clothes
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — money
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ball — a dance
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ball — a round shape

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