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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. land — ground
  3. march — music
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — moving air
  7. game — wild animals
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. march — the month
  14. club — for golf
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. club — a group
  18. land — to come down
  19. game — a match
  20. can — a tin
  21. club — for dancing
  22. can — to be able to
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. march — the month

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