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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. craft — boats
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. capital — a city
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. land — ground
  12. face — to point toward
  13. content — the amount
  14. craft — a skill
  15. face — to confront
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cap — a hat
  18. capital — money
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. land — to come down
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. face — part of the head
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. content — happy

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