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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. land — a country
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rock — music
  9. land — to come down
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. key — for a lock
  13. hand — in cards
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. key — the most important part
  17. roll — a list
  18. hand — help
  19. land — ground
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bowl — a dish

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