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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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 kind of play
  2. spring — of water
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mug — a face
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rash — a series
  14. pound — a weight
  15. game — a match
  16. mug — a cup
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rush — hurry
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  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