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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hand — in cards
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. firm — a company
  5. can — a tin
  6. firm — decided
  7. spring — a coil
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. land — to come down
  11. game — a match
  12. fall — to drop
  13. firm — steady
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fall — the season
  16. hand — help
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. spring — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. land — ground
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spring — of water
  24. land — a country

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