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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. object — an aim
  3. rash — a series
  4. current — of water
  5. land — ground
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. current — electric
  8. wind — moving air
  9. object — a thing
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. current — happening now
  21. game — a match
  22. land — a country
  23. object — to protest
  24. bass — low music

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