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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mark — a trace
  4. game — a match
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cap — a lid
  12. present — a gift
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bat — the animal
  16. game — wild animals
  17. present — the time now
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kid — child
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. present — there
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pound — for dogs

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