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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rash — hasty
  13. game — a match
  14. pop — music
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bass — low music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pop — soda
  23. chip — for betting
  24. game — a kind of play

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