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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · land · chip · straw · fine · bulb · capital · chest

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chest — a box
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bulb — for light
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. land — to come down
  12. capital — a city
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — ground
  20. degree — an amount
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. chip — to eat
  24. straw — a straw man

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