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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chest — of your body
  3. capital — money
  4. land — a country
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. chest — a box
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cell — a phone
  15. last — to go on
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. last — finally
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cell — in biology
  20. last — final
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. land — ground

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