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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. game — wild animals
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spell — magic
  6. drill — the tool
  7. snap — to click
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. march — the month
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mate — a partner
  13. march — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. mate — to breed
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. march — the month
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — a match
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mate — a friend
  24. row — to paddle

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