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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. deal — to handle
  6. stem — to come from
  7. charge — a price
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. game — a match
  13. bass — the fish
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. charge — electricity
  19. charge — in control
  20. capital — a city
  21. bass — low music
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. capital — money
  24. stem — a stem cell

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