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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 120 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. land — a country
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. capital — a city
  5. land — to come down
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bear — the animal
  8. season — of the year
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. band — a ring
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pop — music
  13. land — ground
  14. bear — the animal
  15. band — a music group
  16. season — in sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. capital — money

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