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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. vault — a safe
  4. capital — a city
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — to crush
  7. game — a match
  8. pound — a weight
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tube — the underground
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bark — to shout
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. tube — a container
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. capital — money
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. capital — a big letter

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