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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. game — a match
  4. kid — child
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. degree — an amount
  9. game — wild animals
  10. degree — from a university
  11. court — of law
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — in sport
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. net — for catching
  17. court — of a king
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fine — all right
  20. net — after costs
  21. court — for sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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