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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. file — a tool
  5. perch — the fish
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a document
  8. wind — moving air
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. chip — to eat
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bass — low music
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — the fish
  19. field — farmland
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. file — a line of people
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. safe — out of danger

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