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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. land — ground
  7. rash — a series
  8. kick — in football
  9. ground — a position
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cap — of ice
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. land — a country
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ground — crushed
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bound — certain

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