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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 124 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. ground — the earth
  5. file — a document
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. game — a match
  8. kick — in football
  9. ground — a position
  10. bank — for money
  11. game — wild animals
  12. band — a music group
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. charge — in control
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bank — for money
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a tool
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — a price
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bank — of a river

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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