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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pop — soda
  7. saw — the tool
  8. club — a group
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. hand — help
  16. game — wild animals
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — part of the body

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