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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 124 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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. game — a match
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. board — a committee
  7. branch — a division
  8. game — wild animals
  9. shower — to wash
  10. kid — child
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. foot — a measure
  17. board — to get on
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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