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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
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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: sharp · cap · game · file · mine · rule · kick · land

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. land — ground
  3. mine — for digging
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — a country
  8. cap — a hat
  9. sharp — clever
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rule — government
  16. file — a tool
  17. rule — a law
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. file — a document
  21. game — a match
  22. kick — in football
  23. cap — a lid
  24. land — to come down

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