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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. wake — a trail
  4. capital — a city
  5. bank — for money
  6. tube — the underground
  7. land — to come down
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. capital — money
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bank — of a river
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bank — for money
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — for betting
  16. tube — a container
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. capital — a big letter

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