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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. face — to confront
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bore — to tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. shower — rain
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bore — to drill
  20. game — a match
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pass — a permit
  24. game — wild animals

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