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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. land — ground
  4. suit — in cards
  5. game — a match
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. suit — to fit
  8. land — to come down
  9. game — wild animals
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. charge — electricity
  13. hand — in cards
  14. charge — in control
  15. suit — clothes
  16. pitch — completely
  17. shower — to wash
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. land — a country
  20. charge — a price
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. foot — a measure
  23. shower — rain
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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