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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · game · pop · mouse · bore · mine

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. 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. game — a kind of play
  2. pop — music
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pop — soda
  17. ground — a position
  18. 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