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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cap — a hat
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. net — in sport
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — music
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. land — a country
  17. pop — soda
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wax — to grow
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. pop — music
  24. land — to come down

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