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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — money
  4. lean — to bend
  5. current — happening now
  6. chip — to eat
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — for sport
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. current — of water
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. court — of law
  20. current — electric
  21. lean — thin
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. deal — to handle
  24. chip — for betting

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