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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. band — a ring
  4. game — a match
  5. band — a music group
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pop — soda
  9. bear — the animal
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. row — a line
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pop — music
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bear — the animal
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bear — to put up with

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