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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mate — a partner
  3. branch — a division
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. ball — a dance
  8. mate — to breed
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. field — a subject
  14. current — of water
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mate — a friend
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a great time
  21. current — happening now
  22. field — for sport
  23. current — electric
  24. roll — on a roll

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