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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. object — an aim
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. object — a thing
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. net — for catching
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. game — wild animals
  13. net — in sport
  14. land — a country
  15. object — to protest
  16. net — after costs
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. land — to come down
  19. rush — hurry
  20. land — ground
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — a song

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