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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. cell — a phone
  6. net — for catching
  7. scale — in music
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. net — in sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. net — after costs
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bass — low music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitch — completely

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