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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. game — wild animals
  3. land — a country
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. land — to come down
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. degree — temperature
  8. land — ground
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — an amount
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fine — all right
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — a match

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