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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pop — music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. hand — help
  15. spring — of water
  16. present — there
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kid — child
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. present — the time now
  23. drill — army training
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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