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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — humankind
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spell — letters
  8. race — a contest
  9. cue — a signal
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. spell — a short time
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. board — a committee
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — the earth
  16. game — a match
  17. branch — a division
  18. board — to get on
  19. spell — magic
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cue — for pool
  24. ground — a position

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