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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 116 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. race — humankind
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kick — in football
  9. face — to confront
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. race — the arms race
  15. face — to point toward
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. game — a match
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. race — a contest
  24. coach — a trainer

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