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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chip — for betting
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bound — certain
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. cold — not warm
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bound — tied together

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