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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. track — a path
  4. spring — of water
  5. pop — soda
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. track — a song
  9. last — finally
  10. game — a match
  11. pound — a weight
  12. track — to keep track
  13. last — to go on
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. spring — the season
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bore — to drill
  21. spring — a coil
  22. last — final
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bore — to tire

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