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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — for golf
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — a match
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. degree — an amount
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. tear — to rip
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group

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