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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. land — ground
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. key — for a lock
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. current — electric
  8. key — in music
  9. capital — a city
  10. chip — for betting
  11. land — a country
  12. chip — to eat
  13. key — the most important part
  14. capital — money
  15. land — to come down
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. row — a line
  18. bat — the animal
  19. current — of water
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. row — to paddle
  22. current — happening now
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bat — for baseball

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