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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. game — a match
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. land — ground
  12. hand — in cards
  13. row — a line
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. game — wild animals
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. hand — help
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cold — not warm

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