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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. face — part of the head
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mug — a face
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. game — wild animals
  8. face — to confront
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rock — a stone
  12. kid — child
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bore — to drill
  15. spring — of water
  16. rock — music
  17. mug — a cup
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spring — the season
  20. scale — in music
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bore — to tire
  23. mug — to rob
  24. scale — size or range

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