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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — help
  4. face — to point toward
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chip — to eat
  8. face — to confront
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. face — part of the head
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rest — a break
  17. chip — for betting
  18. game — a match
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. vault — a safe
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. game — wild animals
  24. straw — dry grass

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