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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. track — a song
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stock — shares
  7. land — a country
  8. track — to keep track
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. current — happening now
  15. capital — a city
  16. track — a path
  17. current — of water
  18. land — ground
  19. current — electric
  20. mine — for digging
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. land — to come down
  23. capital — money
  24. game — a match

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