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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. land — ground
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pound — a weight
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. current — happening now
  11. band — a music group
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. current — electric
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. land — to come down
  16. field — for sport
  17. chair — a leader
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — farmland
  20. band — a ring
  21. current — of water
  22. land — a country
  23. game — a match
  24. field — a subject

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