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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. land — a country
  3. charge — a price
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. craft — boats
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rash — hasty
  15. game — a match
  16. charge — electricity
  17. rash — a series
  18. charge — in control
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. last — finally
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. band — a ring

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