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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. plane — a tool
  4. staff — employees
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pop — music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — of water
  12. game — wild animals
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. hand — help
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rock — music
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spring — the season
  20. rock — a stone
  21. game — a match
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — to sink

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