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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. capital — a city
  3. chip — for betting
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. roll — a list
  7. rash — a series
  8. face — to point toward
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. face — to confront
  11. march — the month
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. face — part of the head
  14. capital — money
  15. present — there
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bat — the animal
  20. present — the time now
  21. chip — to eat
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. present — a gift
  24. march — music

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