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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. current — electric
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bass — low music
  7. drill — a practice
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. game — a match
  12. swing — music
  13. roll — a cake
  14. current — happening now
  15. swing — in golf
  16. current — of water
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. drill — army training
  20. swing — to play on
  21. roll — a list
  22. mine — for digging
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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