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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mug — to rob
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mug — a face
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — a video
  12. mug — a cup
  13. game — a match
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. last — final
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ruler — for measuring

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