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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. court — of law
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. court — for sport
  9. ground — crushed
  10. row — a line
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — to paddle
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. game — a match
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tear — to rip
  21. court — of a king
  22. tear — from crying
  23. club — a group
  24. ground — a position

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