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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. chip — to eat
  3. shower — to wash
  4. capital — a city
  5. field — farmland
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. shower — rain
  10. wake — a trail
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. field — for sport
  13. spell — a short time
  14. field — a subject
  15. chip — for betting
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. spell — magic
  20. capital — money
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. board — a committee
  24. spell — letters

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