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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — to wash
  8. current — happening now
  9. charge — electricity
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. toast — bread
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a document
  14. shower — rain
  15. charge — in control
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. file — a tool
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. current — electric
  22. charge — a price
  23. game — wild animals
  24. current — of water

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