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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. field — farmland
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. land — to come down
  5. bound — certain
  6. stock — goods
  7. field — for sport
  8. stock — shares
  9. game — a match
  10. bound — obliged
  11. field — a subject
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. spell — magic
  15. roll — a list
  16. club — for golf
  17. bound — tied together
  18. spell — a short time
  19. roll — a cake
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. land — ground
  22. spell — letters
  23. game — wild animals
  24. roll — on a roll

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