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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spring — the season
  4. game — a match
  5. spring — a coil
  6. capital — a city
  7. stock — shares
  8. prune — to trim
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. capital — money
  12. present — a gift
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. present — there
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spring — of water
  18. stock — goods
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — to get on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. present — the time now
  24. pound — for dogs

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