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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chip — for betting
  3. capital — a city
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. dip — to sink
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. club — for golf
  8. cap — of ice
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. club — a group
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cap — a lid
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ball — a dance
  24. dip — a sauce

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