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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. land — a country
  3. ground — a position
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a city
  10. date — the fruit
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — a lid
  15. capital — money
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cap — a hat
  19. ground — the earth
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cap — of ice
  24. date — on the calendar

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