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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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cold — not warm
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. game — a match
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. board — to get on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. board — a committee
  12. pop — music
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cold — an illness
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wake — a trail
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. spell — letters
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. pop — to visit
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pop — soda
  24. key — in music

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