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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a match
  4. fine — all right
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. fine — high quality
  13. vault — a safe
  14. shower — to wash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rash — hasty
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. sharp — clever
  24. game — wild animals

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