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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. suit — in cards
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wake — a trail
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rush — hurry
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chest — of your body
  19. suit — to fit
  20. chest — a box
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. suit — clothes
  24. wake — before a funeral

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