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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. land — a country
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pound — a weight
  5. spring — the season
  6. land — to come down
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. mug — a face
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. saw — the tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. game — wild animals
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. game — a match
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. spring — a coil
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. saw — the tool
  20. root — the cause
  21. mug — to rob
  22. root — of a word
  23. land — ground
  24. spring — of water

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