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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. court — of law
  4. mug — a face
  5. suit — in cards
  6. band — a music group
  7. game — a match
  8. mug — a cup
  9. land — to come down
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. court — of a king
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. band — a ring
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. suit — clothes
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. court — for sport
  21. land — a country
  22. mug — to rob
  23. land — ground
  24. suit — to fit

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