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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mug — to rob
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. pop — music
  6. game — a match
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bank — for money
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bank — of a river
  12. mug — a face
  13. squash — to crush
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pop — soda
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bank — for money
  23. ball — a great time
  24. row — to paddle

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