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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. capital — money
  11. land — ground
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. scale — in music
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bass — the fish
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. row — a line
  24. scale — size or range

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