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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rock — a stone
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. rock — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spring — of water
  10. snap — to click
  11. game — a match
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — soda
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. pop — to visit
  20. spring — a coil
  21. tear — from crying
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pop — 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