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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — in sport
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. net — after costs
  6. rock — a stone
  7. track — a song
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. net — for catching
  12. ground — a position
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rock — music
  16. capital — a city
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rule — a law
  21. scale — in music
  22. capital — money
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rule — government

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