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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mine — for digging
  7. staff — employees
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pound — a weight
  12. staff — employees
  13. game — a match
  14. swing — music
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. date — the fruit
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. swing — in golf
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pound — to hit hard

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