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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. drill — army training
  4. club — for golf
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. drill — a practice
  8. capital — money
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mark — a trace
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cap — of ice
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. club — a group
  17. cap — a lid
  18. land — ground
  19. cap — a hat
  20. land — to come down
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. club — for dancing
  23. drill — the tool
  24. capital — a city

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