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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pound — a weight
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rule — government
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. file — a document
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. file — a tool
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bore — to tire
  21. game — a match
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rule — a law
  24. mouse — for a computer

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