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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. land — to come down
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bank — for money
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bank — for money
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. land — ground
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bank — of a river
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chip — for betting
  19. game — a match
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chair — a leader
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. chip — to eat

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