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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. hand — help
  4. last — to go on
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — final
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bound — tied together
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bound — obliged
  17. game — a match
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. last — finally
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bound — certain
  24. hand — part of the body

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