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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: rock · capital · mine · court · wake · chip · land · fine

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. capital — money
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chip — for betting
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. land — to come down
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. court — of law
  10. wake — a trail
  11. chip — to eat
  12. land — a country
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. capital — a city
  18. land — ground
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. rock — a stone
  21. fine — high quality
  22. rock — music
  23. fine — all right
  24. court — for sport

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