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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. season — of the year
  11. capital — a city
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. season — in sport
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. capital — money
  17. mark — a trace
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mark — a grade
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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