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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — music
  10. roll — a cake
  11. game — a match
  12. band — a ring
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. roll — a list
  16. bound — tied together
  17. march — the month
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. band — a music group
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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