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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spell — letters
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. land — ground
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mark — a grade
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. snap — to click
  16. march — the month
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spell — magic
  20. mark — a trace
  21. game — wild animals
  22. march — the month
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. nail — for a hammer

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