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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. land — a country
  5. bass — low music
  6. ground — crushed
  7. game — wild animals
  8. ground — the earth
  9. land — to come down
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. hand — help
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. land — ground
  17. ground — a position
  18. bass — the fish

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