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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — music
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pop — soda
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. capital — money
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. capital — a city
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. kid — child
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spell — magic
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rest — what's left

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