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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cold — an illness
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a match
  9. bore — to drill
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — to recline
  13. game — wild animals
  14. board — a committee
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. spring — of water
  17. board — to get on
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. board — a flat piece

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