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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mine — for digging
  5. game — a match
  6. kick — in football
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. game — wild animals
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bore — to drill
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — of water

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