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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cap — a lid
  5. land — ground
  6. march — the month
  7. current — of water
  8. mate — a friend
  9. current — happening now
  10. march — music
  11. land — a country
  12. cap — of ice
  13. land — to come down
  14. current — electric
  15. ground — the earth
  16. game — a match
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. ground — a position
  22. chest — a box
  23. mate — a partner
  24. game — wild animals

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