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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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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: kid · deal · scale · can · row · track · bore · game

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. can — to be able to
  3. track — to keep track
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — a match
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bore — to tire
  10. deal — to handle
  11. row — a line
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. can — a tin
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. can — a tin
  18. track — a path
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bore — to drill
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. row — to paddle
  23. scale — in music
  24. track — a song

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