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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. game — a match
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. file — a tool
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. saw — the tool
  9. board — a committee
  10. rash — hasty
  11. file — a document
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mine — for digging
  15. board — to get on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. chip — to eat
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. chip — for betting
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rash — a series

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