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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. net — in sport
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chest — a box
  6. land — a country
  7. craft — a skill
  8. capital — a city
  9. chest — of your body
  10. craft — boats
  11. fine — all right
  12. net — after costs
  13. land — ground
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — money
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — of the year
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. land — to come down
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. net — for catching

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