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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. land — a country
  3. capital — a city
  4. land — ground
  5. capital — money
  6. file — a document
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a face
  9. file — a line of people
  10. march — music
  11. mug — a cup
  12. march — the month
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. can — a tin
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. march — the month
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rock — a stone
  23. land — to come down
  24. file — a tool

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