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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. pop — soda
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pop — to visit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. capital — a city
  12. track — a path
  13. saw — the tool
  14. track — a song
  15. capital — money
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rush — hurry
  18. pop — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. deal — to handle
  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