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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · hand · game · wind · club · degree · rush · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. game — a match
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fork — in a road
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — a country
  15. hand — help
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. degree — from a university
  20. club — for golf
  21. hand — in cards
  22. land — to come down
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — part of the body

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