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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 116 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: pit · capital · patient · chip · squash · file · perch · wind

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a city
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chip — for betting
  10. file — a tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. squash — to crush
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. capital — money
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chip — to eat
  20. file — a document
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pit — a hole

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