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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — a stone
  3. hand — help
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. file — a line of people
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spring — the season
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — of water
  15. file — a tool
  16. ball — a great time
  17. file — a document
  18. pound — a weight
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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