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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: game · can · spring · drill · roll · pop · staff · perch

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. game — wild animals
  6. can — a tin
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. staff — employees
  9. pop — to visit
  10. spring — of water
  11. game — a match
  12. drill — a practice
  13. can — to be able to
  14. drill — army training
  15. roll — a cake
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pop — soda
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pop — music
  20. can — a tin
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. staff — employees
  23. roll — a list
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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