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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — in a road
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. land — a country
  8. cold — an illness
  9. game — a match
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. march — the month
  14. land — ground
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rash — hasty
  17. march — music
  18. kick — in football
  19. land — to come down
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rash — a series
  24. cold — the Cold War

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