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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lean — thin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. key — for a lock
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ground — a position
  8. hand — help
  9. present — the time now
  10. spring — the season
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. present — there
  13. lean — to bend
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. key — in music
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ground — the earth
  19. key — the most important part
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. present — a gift
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ground — crushed
  24. coach — a trainer

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