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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: ball · present · game · tear · cold · land · club · jam

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. club — a group
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. present — there
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. present — a gift
  11. club — for dancing
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. land — to come down
  16. game — wild animals
  17. land — a country
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. tear — to rip
  21. present — the time now
  22. club — for golf
  23. ball — a great time
  24. tear — from crying

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