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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. land — a country
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. game — wild animals
  6. current — of water
  7. season — of the year
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. current — happening now
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. land — to come down
  12. season — in sport
  13. game — a match
  14. land — ground
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. current — electric

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