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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. club — a group
  3. shower — to wash
  4. land — ground
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. capital — a city
  8. chip — to eat
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. club — for dancing
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. root — the cause
  13. plane — a tool
  14. capital — money
  15. lean — thin
  16. land — a country
  17. club — for golf
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. root — of a word
  21. chip — for betting
  22. land — to come down
  23. root — of a plant
  24. plane — an aircraft

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