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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. saw — the tool
  3. game — a match
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wake — a trail
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bound — certain
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. game — wild animals
  13. ground — a position
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — in music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bat — the animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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