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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. net — for catching
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. chip — for betting
  10. land — to come down
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chip — to eat
  16. land — a country
  17. shower — rain
  18. rest — what's left

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