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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bore — to tire
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bound — tied together
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. last — to go on
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. last — finally
  12. court — of law
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bound — certain
  20. bore — to drill
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. last — final

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