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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. file — a tool
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rock — music
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. file — a document
  8. chip — for betting
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. capital — money
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rock — a stone
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. land — to come down
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. chip — to eat
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ground — a position
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rest — a break

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