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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. ground — a position
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. content — happy
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. game — a match
  14. ground — crushed
  15. content — the amount
  16. game — wild animals
  17. staff — employees
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. pop — to visit
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. staff — employees
  24. bore — to drill

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