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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. game — wild animals
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — a country
  5. file — a line of people
  6. saw — the tool
  7. present — a gift
  8. file — a document
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. band — a music group
  15. saw — the tool
  16. game — a match
  17. present — there
  18. band — a ring
  19. land — ground
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. present — the time now
  22. land — to come down
  23. mouse — for a computer
  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