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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fine — all right
  4. track — to keep track
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. capital — money
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — a city
  9. land — a country
  10. fine — high quality
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. degree — an amount
  16. land — to come down
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. track — a song
  19. band — a music group
  20. land — ground
  21. band — a ring
  22. degree — temperature
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bulb — for light

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