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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 124 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pop — to visit
  7. current — of water
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pop — soda
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. current — electric
  18. pop — music
  19. net — after costs
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. current — happening now
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bore — to drill

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