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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. last — final
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. last — to go on
  22. land — to come down
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. game — a match

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