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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. shower — rain
  3. deal — to handle
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. staff — a stick
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chip — for betting
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. hand — help
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. band — a music group
  13. capital — a city
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. chip — to eat
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. shower — to wash
  23. capital — money
  24. deal — an agreement

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