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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rest — what's left
  6. band — a ring
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. game — a match
  9. track — a path
  10. cue — a hint
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cue — a signal
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. track — a song
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tube — a container
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cue — for pool
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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