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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hand — in cards
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. spell — magic
  8. game — a match
  9. toast — bread
  10. cell — in biology
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bore — to drill
  14. hand — help
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bore — to tire
  24. spell — letters

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