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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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. mine — belonging to me
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hand — help
  8. board — a committee
  9. degree — an amount
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. game — a match
  12. mine — for digging
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. degree — temperature
  16. branch — a division
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. deal — to handle
  21. degree — from a university
  22. board — to get on
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. hand — in cards

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