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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — obliged
  5. deal — to handle
  6. row — a line
  7. content — happy
  8. land — to come down
  9. bound — certain
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. row — to paddle
  24. content — the amount

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