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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. deal — to handle
  3. ground — a position
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. net — in sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chest — of your body
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. land — ground
  13. ground — crushed
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — to come down
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. ground — the earth
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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