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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. game — a match
  4. content — happy
  5. track — a path
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pop — soda
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pop — music
  18. ground — a position
  19. content — the amount
  20. pop — to visit
  21. ground — crushed
  22. drill — a practice
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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