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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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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: wound · saw · roll · game · mouse · rock · net · march

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. game — a match
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. saw — the tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. march — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. net — after costs
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. roll — a list
  16. saw — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rock — music
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rock — a stone
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. roll — a cake

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