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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. capital — a city
  5. court — for sport
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. rush — hurry
  10. land — to come down
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chip — to eat
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — money
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. land — a country
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. key — for a lock
  24. court — of law

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