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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pop — soda
  7. bat — the animal
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. board — a committee
  10. firm — steady
  11. pop — to visit
  12. board — to get on
  13. land — ground
  14. firm — decided
  15. land — a country
  16. pop — music
  17. firm — a company
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. capital — a city
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. capital — a big letter

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