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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fine — all right
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bound — tied together
  5. land — to come down
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bound — certain
  10. capital — money
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fine — high quality
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bound — obliged
  22. capital — a city
  23. land — a country
  24. mine — for digging

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