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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rule — government
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. club — for dancing
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rash — a series
  8. net — after costs
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rule — a law
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. club — for golf
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. club — a group
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. game — a match
  21. roll — a list
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. rash — hasty

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