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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. land — ground
  6. chest — a box
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. game — a match
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. game — wild animals
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — to come down
  16. bulb — for light
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. roll — a list
  20. chest — of your body
  21. land — a country
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. roll — a cake
  24. pitcher — a jug

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