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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 124 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fine — all right
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. band — a ring
  7. deal — to handle
  8. last — to go on
  9. press — to push
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. press — newspapers
  12. capital — money
  13. land — a country
  14. capital — a city
  15. land — to come down
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. last — final
  20. fine — high quality
  21. press — a publisher
  22. last — finally
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. band — a music group

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