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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. ball — a great time
  3. root — the cause
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. land — a country
  7. press — to push
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. land — to come down
  11. cold — an illness
  12. press — newspapers
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. game — wild animals
  18. press — a publisher
  19. ball — a dance
  20. game — a match
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a word
  24. chip — to eat

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