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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. land — a country
  5. rock — music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. land — to come down
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. club — for golf
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. drill — army training
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — a city
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. capital — money
  24. drill — the tool

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