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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. club — for golf
  3. net — for catching
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. ground — crushed
  7. hand — help
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. land — to come down
  12. net — in sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. land — a country
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — ground
  21. net — after costs
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. game — a match

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