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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. file — a tool
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. file — a document
  7. land — a country
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — ground
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. roll — a cake
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. craft — a skill
  18. roll — a list
  19. land — to come down
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. file — a line of people
  22. deal — to handle
  23. stand — to bear
  24. craft — boats

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