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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. root — the cause
  3. net — after costs
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chip — for betting
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. degree — from a university
  16. root — of a word
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — ground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. degree — an amount
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. root — of a plant

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