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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. last — final
  3. ground — crushed
  4. roll — a list
  5. fork — in a road
  6. last — to go on
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. game — a match
  11. land — a country
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. last — finally
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ground — a position
  21. land — to come down
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. roll — a cake
  24. jam — in traffic

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