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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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 — music
  4. row — to paddle
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pass — a permit
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — a line
  17. game — a match
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. march — the month
  24. lie — an untruth

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