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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chip — for betting
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. squash — the sport
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. land — to come down
  9. mug — a face
  10. game — a match
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. row — to paddle
  13. sharp — clever
  14. row — a line
  15. land — a country
  16. capital — a city
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mug — to rob
  19. chip — to eat
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. land — ground
  24. capital — money

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