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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. last — final
  3. pound — a weight
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — to go on
  6. march — music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. land — to come down
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — low music
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. last — finally
  18. land — ground
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wax — in the ear

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