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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. can — to be able to
  7. cue — a hint
  8. content — happy
  9. cue — a signal
  10. can — a tin
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cue — for pool
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chip — in a computer

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