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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — a match
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bound — obliged
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bound — tied together
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. ground — a position
  16. date — the fruit
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pop — music
  19. bound — certain
  20. hand — help
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. hand — in cards
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pop — soda

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