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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. club — for dancing
  4. capital — money
  5. game — a match
  6. scale — size or range
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. club — a group
  12. land — ground
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. roll — a cake
  23. land — to come down
  24. club — for golf

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