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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pop — soda
  4. capital — money
  5. court — for sport
  6. chip — for betting
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pop — to visit
  9. capital — a city
  10. last — final
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pop — music
  17. rash — a series
  18. last — to go on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chip — to eat
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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