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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: chip · wake · deal · track · race · file · pit · capital

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. chip — to eat
  4. race — humankind
  5. pit — a hole
  6. capital — a city
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. race — a contest
  12. wake — a trail
  13. track — to keep track
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. race — the arms race
  17. file — a tool
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. file — a document
  21. pit — in a race
  22. deal — to handle
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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