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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. net — for catching
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. game — a match
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bound — certain
  12. cell — a phone
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wind — moving air
  22. net — in sport
  23. fork — in a road
  24. net — after costs

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