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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. capital — money
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cell — in biology
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a music group
  14. season — of the year
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. season — in sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mine — for digging
  20. land — a country
  21. rest — a break
  22. chip — for betting
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. chip — to eat

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