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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. season — in sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. march — music
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mark — a grade
  15. game — a match
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — in cards
  20. game — wild animals
  21. hand — help
  22. season — of the year
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mark — a trace

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