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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. game — wild animals
  7. track — to keep track
  8. band — a music group
  9. land — ground
  10. band — a ring
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. land — a country
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. track — a path
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. track — a song
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — in football
  23. land — to come down
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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