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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cell — a phone
  5. net — in sport
  6. fine — all right
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. march — the month
  13. game — a match
  14. fine — high quality
  15. march — music
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. game — wild animals

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