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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rest — a break
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. game — a match
  5. land — a country
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — the month
  11. suit — to fit
  12. kid — to tease
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. suit — in cards
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chip — to eat
  21. kid — child
  22. march — music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. suit — clothes

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