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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pop — soda
  4. field — for sport
  5. spell — magic
  6. game — a match
  7. pop — to visit
  8. deal — to handle
  9. fine — all right
  10. game — wild animals
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. field — farmland
  15. board — a committee
  16. spell — letters
  17. dip — to sink
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spell — a short time
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. field — a subject
  23. board — to get on
  24. pop — music

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