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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. capital — money
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. game — wild animals
  6. land — ground
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. net — for catching
  9. band — a ring
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. net — in sport
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. band — a music group
  14. stock — goods
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stock — shares
  17. capital — a city
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. game — a match
  20. land — to come down
  21. net — after costs
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. toast — bread

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