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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — a match
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bore — to drill
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. band — a music group
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. bore — to tire
  16. game — wild animals
  17. court — of law
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. band — a ring
  24. plane — in geometry

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