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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 116 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: last · key · wind · cold · capital · mug · chip · stand

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. last — final
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chip — to eat
  7. mug — to rob
  8. key — for a lock
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — to go on
  13. capital — a city
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — a cup
  16. stand — to bear
  17. key — in music
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. last — finally
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wind — to turn a key

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