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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bass — low music
  9. drill — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — a subject
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — a cup
  14. drill — a practice
  15. field — farmland
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — for sport
  19. mine — for digging
  20. game — a match
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — army training
  24. mine — belonging to me

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