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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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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: date · cell · mug · chip · capital · kick · racket · tear

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. kick — in football
  3. chip — for betting
  4. date — the fruit
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. capital — a city
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. tear — to rip
  9. capital — money
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chip — to eat
  20. mug — a face
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mug — a cup
  24. tear — from crying

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