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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. track — a song
  4. hand — help
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. track — a path
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. game — wild animals
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wind — moving air
  13. track — to keep track
  14. season — of the year
  15. game — a match
  16. hand — in cards
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wind — moving air
  20. season — in sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. net — in sport

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