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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. game — a match
  3. last — final
  4. foot — a measure
  5. game — wild animals
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. last — finally
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — ground
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. land — to come down
  24. arm — a part of something

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