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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cell — in biology
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. game — a match
  9. branch — a division
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cell — a phone
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rash — a series
  18. mate — a friend

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