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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. club — for golf
  4. game — a match
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. firm — a company
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — steady
  12. club — for dancing
  13. file — a document
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. firm — decided
  16. cold — not warm
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. club — a group
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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