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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chip — for betting
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rest — what's left
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. game — wild animals
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. game — a match
  16. capital — a city
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chip — to eat
  19. land — ground
  20. rest — what's left
  21. land — a country
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. chip — in a computer
  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