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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — a country
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. squash — the sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. rest — what's left
  10. game — a match
  11. pop — music
  12. land — ground
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. charge — a price
  18. rest — a break
  19. squash — to crush
  20. rock — a stone
  21. charge — electricity
  22. hand — in cards
  23. charge — in control
  24. game — wild animals

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