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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. land — a country
  4. capital — a city
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. sharp — clever
  7. game — wild animals
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. foot — a measure
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. club — for dancing
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. game — a match
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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