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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: chip · cold · roll · fine · plane · fall · capital · squash

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. plane — a tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. roll — a cake
  5. fine — high quality
  6. chip — to eat
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. fall — the season
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. fine — all right
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fall — to drop

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