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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. net — after costs
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. land — a country
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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