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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — soda
  3. last — to go on
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. kid — to tease
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. game — a match
  9. last — final
  10. season — of the year
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. kid — child
  14. hand — in cards
  15. game — wild animals
  16. hand — help
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. last — finally
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pop — music

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