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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. rush — hurry
  4. field — a subject
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chip — for betting
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. field — for sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. perch — the fish
  18. field — farmland
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. land — ground
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. chip — to eat

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