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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. saw — the tool
  5. file — a document
  6. bore — to tire
  7. file — a line of people
  8. game — wild animals
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. file — a tool
  11. season — in sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bore — to drill
  15. season — of the year
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. game — a match
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. jam — a tight spot

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