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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. chip — for betting
  3. firm — decided
  4. spring — a coil
  5. capital — money
  6. chip — to eat
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cue — for pool
  9. band — a ring
  10. capital — a city
  11. cue — a signal
  12. spring — the season
  13. band — a music group
  14. firm — steady
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spring — of water

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