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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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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. land — a country
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. sharp — clever
  5. capital — money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. land — ground
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. capital — a city
  14. deal — to handle
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. land — to come down
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. jam — in traffic

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