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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rest — what's left
  3. game — a match
  4. ground — a position
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cap — a lid
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rest — a break
  17. plane — a tool
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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