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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. lean — thin
  3. land — to come down
  4. court — for sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. court — of a king
  7. lean — to bend
  8. capital — money
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. capital — a city
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. season — in sport
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. court — of law
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. perch — the fish
  20. land — ground
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. season — of the year

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