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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 I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bass — the fish
  3. land — a country
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fine — high quality
  6. capital — money
  7. present — the time now
  8. land — ground
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. present — there
  11. bass — low music
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. fine — all right
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a city
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. present — a gift
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fine — a penalty

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