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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: deal · coach · game · tear · sharp · chip · face · capital

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. sharp — clever
  10. capital — money
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tear — from crying
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. face — to point toward
  15. tear — to rip
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. face — to confront
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. deal — to handle
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. capital — a city
  23. face — part of the head
  24. game — a match

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