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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. roll — a list
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. drill — a practice
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. game — a match
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cell — a phone
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. drill — the tool
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. roll — a cake
  21. drill — army training
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. dip — to sink
  24. ball — a dance

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