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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. pop — soda
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. net — in sport
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. net — after costs
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — for catching
  15. sharp — clever
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pop — to visit
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. pop — music
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. sharp — with an edge

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