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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. capital — a city
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. last — to go on
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chair — a leader
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. hand — in cards
  12. land — to come down
  13. hand — help
  14. tube — the underground
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. mine — for digging
  17. capital — money
  18. last — finally
  19. land — ground
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. last — final
  23. tube — a container
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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