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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: present · wake · capital · cell · firm · mark · wind · chip

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — a phone
  6. firm — steady
  7. present — there
  8. capital — a city
  9. firm — decided
  10. present — the time now
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. firm — a company
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wake — a trail

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