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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. charge — a price
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. land — ground
  7. charge — in control
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. charge — electricity
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. prune — to trim
  13. swing — to play on
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. swing — in golf
  16. land — to come down
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. land — a country
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. prune — to trim
  21. swing — music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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