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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — a face
  5. capital — a city
  6. mug — to rob
  7. capital — money
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. ball — a great time
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. stock — shares
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chip — for betting
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — goods
  24. ball — a round shape

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