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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. field — farmland
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bank — for money
  5. capital — money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. squash — the sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. sharp — clever
  10. field — for sport
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. chip — for betting
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. capital — a city
  18. bank — for money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. field — a subject
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. land — a country
  23. squash — to crush
  24. land — ground

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