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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. swing — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. land — ground
  8. capital — money
  9. land — a country
  10. swing — in golf
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. land — to come down
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. capital — a city
  16. track — to keep track
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. spring — a coil
  23. game — a match
  24. track — a path

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