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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pop — to visit
  4. game — a match
  5. hand — help
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. scale — in music
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. saw — the tool
  14. scale — size or range
  15. vault — a safe
  16. dip — to sink
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — soda
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fork — in a road
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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