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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bat — the animal
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. game — wild animals
  6. band — a ring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. band — a music group
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. land — a country
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. land — to come down
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. current — electric
  24. shower — rain

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