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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. band — a music group
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — the amount
  5. key — the most important part
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. key — in music
  11. hand — help
  12. content — happy
  13. game — a match
  14. key — for a lock
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. band — a ring
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bore — to tire

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