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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. key — the most important part
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mate — to breed
  7. current — happening now
  8. key — for a lock
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. land — a country
  15. key — in music
  16. band — a ring
  17. pop — music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. game — wild animals
  20. row — a line
  21. band — a music group
  22. land — to come down
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — a partner

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