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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. game — a match
  8. content — the amount
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. march — music
  11. land — a country
  12. game — wild animals
  13. land — to come down
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. land — ground
  18. bulb — for light
  19. content — happy
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pound — a weight
  24. content — videos and posts

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