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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. kid — child
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bound — certain
  7. ground — the earth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a match
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. spring — the season
  15. bound — tied together
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bound — obliged
  22. deal — to handle
  23. spring — of water
  24. bowl — a football final

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