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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. shower — rain
  6. band — a ring
  7. shower — to wash
  8. content — the amount
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. row — a line
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. game — a match
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — happy
  18. pass — a permit
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. band — a music group
  22. row — to paddle
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — boats

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