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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: capital · fan · racket · saw · track · chip · date · row

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chip — for betting
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — money
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. date — the fruit
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — to paddle
  19. track — a path
  20. chip — to eat
  21. row — a line
  22. saw — the tool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chip — in a computer

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