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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. swing — to play on
  4. race — the arms race
  5. capital — money
  6. row — a line
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — music
  9. spring — the season
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chip — to eat
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — magic
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. spring — of water
  16. race — a contest
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spell — a short time
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. spell — letters
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. race — humankind
  23. capital — a city
  24. swing — in golf

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