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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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 — to come down
  3. net — in sport
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rash — a series
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — the season
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. land — a country
  11. game — wild animals
  12. face — to confront
  13. game — a match
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. spring — of water
  16. face — part of the head
  17. net — for catching
  18. rash — hasty
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — to point toward
  22. land — ground
  23. net — after costs
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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