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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rash — hasty
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cap — of ice
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rash — a series
  24. game — wild animals

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