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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rock — music
  7. mug — to rob
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bound — tied together
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bound — obliged
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — a face
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — a line
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bound — certain
  24. mouse — for a computer

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