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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. land — a country
  3. game — a match
  4. capital — money
  5. land — to come down
  6. staff — a stick
  7. track — a song
  8. saw — the tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — in sport
  12. club — a group
  13. track — to keep track
  14. capital — a city
  15. season — of the year
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. track — a path
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. club — for golf
  21. land — ground
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. club — for dancing
  24. game — a kind of play

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