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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rest — a break
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rest — what's left
  9. land — a country
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. land — ground
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bass — low music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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