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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hand — help
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. cell — in biology
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. hand — in cards
  9. file — a line of people
  10. swing — in golf
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cell — a phone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a document
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a 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