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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fork — in a road
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. game — wild animals
  6. capital — a city
  7. vault — a safe
  8. capital — money
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. race — a contest
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. game — a match
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — rain
  18. race — the arms race

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