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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 120 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: capital · present · bore · cold · chip · march

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — to eat
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — an illness
  5. capital — a city
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. march — the month
  8. bore — to tire
  9. capital — money
  10. march — music
  11. bore — to drill
  12. present — the time now
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. present — there
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. present — a gift

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