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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. can — to be able to
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pop — to visit
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pop — soda
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. can — a tin
  19. game — a match
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. pop — music
  22. can — a tin
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mouse — the animal

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