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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. game — wild animals
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — ground
  8. degree — temperature
  9. saw — the tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a dance
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — to come down
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — a match
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. ball — a great time

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