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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. game — a match
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. file — a tool
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. squash — to crush
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. file — a document
  18. nail — for a hammer

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