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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — help
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — wild animals
  5. kick — in football
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. band — a music group
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. hand — in cards
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. staff — employees
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a ring
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. staff — a stick
  24. game — a match

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