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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. game — wild animals
  7. suit — to fit
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. suit — in cards
  13. row — a line
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. suit — clothes
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. ball — a dance
  19. row — to paddle
  20. game — a match
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — moving air
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wound — an injury

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