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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. object — to protest
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. object — a thing
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bulb — for light
  11. land — to come down
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. object — an aim
  15. scale — in music
  16. capital — a city
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — ground
  21. scale — size or range
  22. hand — help
  23. pass — a permit
  24. land — a country

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