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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bore — to drill
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spring — the season
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bore — to tire
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pop — soda
  19. spring — of water
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pop — music
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cap — of ice

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