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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bound — obliged
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. game — a match
  7. land — to come down
  8. track — a song
  9. pop — to visit
  10. land — a country
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pop — soda
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. land — ground
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pop — music
  23. march — music
  24. bay — a horse colour

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