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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. land — ground
  3. game — a match
  4. roll — a list
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. spring — of water
  12. pit — in a race
  13. land — a country
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. firm — decided
  17. roll — a cake
  18. game — wild animals
  19. land — to come down
  20. pit — a hole
  21. firm — steady
  22. spring — the season
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. firm — a company

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