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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. deal — to handle
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. last — to go on
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. season — in sport
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. last — finally
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stock — goods
  17. last — final
  18. season — of the year
  19. stock — shares
  20. perch — the fish
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. perch — for a bird

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