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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. swing — to play on
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. file — a tool
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — boats
  9. bass — low music
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — in golf
  18. craft — a skill
  19. capital — a city
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. chip — to eat
  22. tear — to rip
  23. capital — money
  24. swing — music

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