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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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468
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: snap · capital · mine · chip · season · patient · bass · stand

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. capital — money
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. capital — a city
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mine — for digging
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. season — of the year
  15. snap — to click
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bass — low music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stand — to bear
  21. season — in sport
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bass — the fish

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