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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. key — in music
  3. game — a match
  4. clip — a video
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — after costs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. key — for a lock
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. net — for catching
  15. mark — a grade
  16. net — in sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wound — an injury
  23. key — the most important part
  24. clip — for paper

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