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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. field — a subject
  5. craft — a skill
  6. field — farmland
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. field — for sport
  9. game — a match
  10. land — a country
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. land — to come down
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. charge — in control
  16. craft — boats
  17. charge — a price
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. degree — from a university
  24. charge — electricity

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