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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — for sport
  4. vault — a safe
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. field — farmland
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. field — a subject
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — ground
  17. game — wild animals
  18. saw — the tool

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