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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. last — to go on
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rock — music
  10. land — ground
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — finally
  13. land — to come down
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. last — final
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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