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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chip — to eat
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. last — finally
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — a friend
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. last — to go on
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mate — to breed
  17. last — final
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. mate — a partner
  23. scale — in music
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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