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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: march · band · mouse · capital · jam · racket · cold · chip

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chip — for betting
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. capital — money
  13. chip — to eat
  14. march — the month
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. march — the month
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — not warm
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. capital — a city
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. march — music

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