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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. land — to come down
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — for catching
  5. rest — a break
  6. present — there
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. present — a gift
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. land — a country
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — the time now
  18. net — after costs
  19. capital — a city
  20. net — in sport
  21. land — ground
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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