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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. game — wild animals
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pound — a weight
  15. game — a match
  16. plane — a tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bear — the animal
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — clever

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