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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chip — for betting
  5. spring — a coil
  6. last — to go on
  7. game — a match
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. staff — employees
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — finally
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. staff — a stick
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. chip — to eat
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. staff — employees
  24. last — final

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