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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · capital · ball · dip · present · land · track · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. capital — money
  3. land — ground
  4. capital — a city
  5. land — a country
  6. track — a song
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pop — music
  9. present — the time now
  10. last — final
  11. present — a gift
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. pop — to visit
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — soda
  17. ball — a great time
  18. last — to go on
  19. dip — to sink
  20. track — to keep track
  21. land — to come down
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. present — there
  24. track — a path

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