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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rock — music
  3. land — ground
  4. rock — a stone
  5. land — to come down
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. game — a match
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. drill — the tool
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. land — a country
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. kick — in football
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pop — music
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pop — soda
  19. game — wild animals
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pop — to visit
  22. drill — army training
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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