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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. game — a match
  3. row — a line
  4. charge — a price
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. charge — electricity
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. land — a country
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stem — to come from
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. charge — in control
  19. firm — decided
  20. game — wild animals
  21. land — to come down
  22. firm — steady
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. land — ground

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