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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. land — a country
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — part of the head
  10. court — of law
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. tube — a container
  13. capital — a city
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. file — a line of people
  17. capital — money
  18. tube — the underground
  19. root — the cause
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — to come down
  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