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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 124 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. land — a country
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. rule — government
  7. tube — a container
  8. chest — of your body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. land — to come down
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. chest — a box
  18. land — ground
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. rule — a law
  21. capital — a city
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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