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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — in music
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. land — ground
  6. chip — to eat
  7. land — a country
  8. last — finally
  9. charge — a price
  10. capital — money
  11. key — the most important part
  12. row — a line
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. capital — a city
  16. land — to come down
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chip — for betting
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. shower — to wash
  24. chip — in a computer

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