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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. land — to come down
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stock — goods
  11. land — ground
  12. stock — shares
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. game — a match
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. suit — to fit
  18. bear — the animal
  19. land — a country
  20. suit — clothes
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. kick — in football
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. suit — in cards

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