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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mate — a partner
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bound — certain
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mate — a friend
  14. scale — in music
  15. sharp — clever
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mate — to breed
  18. hand — help
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. row — a line
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a match
  23. pound — for dogs
  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