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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 116 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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bound — obliged
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — money
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ball — a great time
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bound — certain
  11. deal — to handle
  12. chip — to eat
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bound — tied together
  17. capital — a city
  18. chip — for betting
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ball — a dance
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cold — not warm

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