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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. present — the time now
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. land — ground
  6. game — a match
  7. present — a gift
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. land — a country
  13. foot — a measure
  14. capital — a city
  15. season — of the year
  16. capital — money
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. present — there
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. season — in sport
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. land — to come down
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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