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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rule — government
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. game — a match
  15. rule — a law
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ground — the earth
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mark — a grade
  23. branch — a division
  24. cell — in biology

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