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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chip — to eat
  5. staff — employees
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — a city
  8. chip — for betting
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. court — of a king
  13. capital — money
  14. court — of law
  15. staff — a stick
  16. net — after costs
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. staff — employees
  20. net — for catching
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. net — in sport
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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