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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: chip · dip · kid · saw · land · mug · content · capital

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. capital — a city
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. kid — to tease
  7. capital — money
  8. mug — a face
  9. chip — to eat
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chip — for betting
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mug — to rob
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. kid — child
  19. mug — a cup
  20. content — the amount
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. saw — the tool

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