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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. last — to go on
  3. shower — rain
  4. bound — certain
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. last — final
  9. bound — obliged
  10. squash — the sport
  11. last — finally
  12. game — a match
  13. club — for dancing
  14. game — wild animals
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. club — for golf
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bound — tied together
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pound — a weight
  24. club — a group

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