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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. shower — rain
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fork — in a road
  18. game — a match
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. staff — employees
  24. chest — a box

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