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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. drill — the tool
  3. scale — in music
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spring — the season
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bore — to drill
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. can — a tin
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a match
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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