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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 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mate — a partner
  3. capital — money
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fall — to drop
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mate — to breed
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. land — to come down
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. land — a country
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. calf — of the leg

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