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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · racket · rule · capital · shower · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. shower — rain
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rule — a law
  10. capital — money
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chip — to eat
  18. capital — a city

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