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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. row — a line
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. present — the time now
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. game — a match
  15. sharp — clever
  16. file — a line of people
  17. present — there
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — a gift
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mouse — the animal

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