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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — for catching
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — the underground
  6. can — a tin
  7. band — a ring
  8. tube — a container
  9. land — to come down
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. can — a tin
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. net — after costs
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. pitch — completely
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. net — in sport
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. can — to be able to
  24. pitch — a sports field

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