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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. land — a country
  3. rock — a stone
  4. field — farmland
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. saw — the tool
  8. row — a line
  9. pop — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — ground
  12. capital — money
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. field — a subject
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — for sport
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. capital — a city
  22. pop — soda
  23. rock — music
  24. land — to come down

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