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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. land — ground
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. land — a country
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. capital — money
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mark — a trace
  12. capital — a city
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mark — a grade
  16. key — in music
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. land — to come down
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mine — for digging
  24. prune — to trim

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