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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. land — a country
  5. current — happening now
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rush — hurry
  8. current — of water
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. land — ground
  12. mark — a trace
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. current — electric
  18. mark — a grade
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. game — wild animals
  24. land — to come down

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