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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. tube — a container
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stock — shares
  5. last — to go on
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. last — final
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — finally
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stock — goods
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rest — a break
  22. mine — for digging
  23. game — a match
  24. rest — what's left

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