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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. land — ground
  5. track — a path
  6. shower — rain
  7. chip — for betting
  8. capital — a city
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bound — obliged
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — to wash
  13. land — to come down
  14. track — a song
  15. land — a country
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chip — to eat
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bound — certain

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