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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. sharp — clever
  3. game — a match
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — money
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — to come down
  11. capital — a city
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cue — a signal
  14. roll — a list
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cue — for pool
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a cake
  19. suit — to fit
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. suit — clothes
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cue — a hint

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