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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — clever
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. firm — steady
  8. prune — to trim
  9. firm — a company
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. firm — decided
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. prune — to trim
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — a match
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. tear — to rip
  23. snap — to click
  24. calf — a young animal

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