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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: deal · sharp · rule · hand · capital · bass · bat · chip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. sharp — clever
  3. capital — a city
  4. chip — for betting
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bass — the fish
  13. hand — help
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. chip — to eat
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rule — government
  20. capital — money
  21. bass — low music
  22. rule — a law
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bat — the animal

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