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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: game · present · spring · saw · foot · mouse · row · scale

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. present — there
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. present — the time now
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. row — a line
  8. spring — a coil
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — in music
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — a match
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — size or range
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — a measure
  20. game — wild animals
  21. present — a gift
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. spring — of water

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