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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. land — a country
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. capital — money
  9. rule — government
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pass — a permit
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. land — to come down
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. ground — a position
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — ground
  23. capital — a city
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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