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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. swing — music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. land — to come down
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. content — the amount
  10. chip — to eat
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. capital — money
  13. race — the arms race
  14. scale — in music
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. race — a contest
  20. content — happy
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chip — for betting
  24. scale — for weighing

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