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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 120 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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. craft — a skill
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. game — wild animals
  7. craft — boats
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — an amount
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. degree — from a university
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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