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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. bulb — for light
  3. march — the month
  4. game — wild animals
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — money
  9. branch — a division
  10. chip — to eat
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. prune — to trim
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. board — a committee
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bulb — for light
  18. game — a match
  19. march — music
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. board — to get on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bulb — of a plant

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