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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: coach · cell · race · chip · deal · pop · capital · cap

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pop — to visit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cap — a hat
  10. race — the arms race
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — a lid
  15. race — humankind
  16. pop — soda
  17. race — a contest
  18. chip — to eat
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cell — in biology
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cap — of ice

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