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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fork — in a road
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bass — low music
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bass — the fish
  20. game — a match
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. leaves — lets stay

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