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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pop — soda
  6. mate — a partner
  7. track — a song
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pop — music
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pop — to visit
  13. staff — a stick
  14. mate — to breed
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. spring — the season
  21. track — a path
  22. stock — shares
  23. staff — employees
  24. lean — to bend

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