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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. land — to come down
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. land — a country
  13. current — electric
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — the season
  24. land — ground

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