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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. can — to be able to
  3. rock — music
  4. game — wild animals
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. game — a match
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rock — a stone
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wind — to turn a key

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