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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 112 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ground — the earth
  4. key — in music
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a music group
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wound — an injury
  9. band — a ring
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ground — a position
  13. key — the most important part
  14. hand — help
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — to come down
  20. squash — to crush
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. land — ground
  23. key — for a lock
  24. hand — part of the body

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