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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. land — to come down
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. land — a country
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. court — of a king
  11. stock — shares
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of law
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. branch — a division
  18. game — a match
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stock — goods
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — ground

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