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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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Word bank
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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. capital — money
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — an illness
  20. staff — a stick
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cold — the Cold War

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