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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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 — to come down
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. land — a country
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. chip — to eat
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. chip — for betting
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. capital — a city
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. pitch — completely
  22. capital — money
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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