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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 120 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: hand · tear · wound · capital · chip · pass · vault · racket

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. vault — a safe
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. hand — help
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chip — to eat
  11. capital — money
  12. pass — a permit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. capital — a city
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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