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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. game — a match
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. race — a contest
  9. row — a line
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — to paddle
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pitch — completely
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. race — humankind
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. squash — the sport

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