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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. object — a thing
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. current — electric
  5. game — a match
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rule — government
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. hand — help
  11. rule — a law
  12. current — of water
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. current — happening now
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — wild animals
  19. object — an aim
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. object — to protest
  23. rule — to rule out
  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