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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 120 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. march — music
  5. drill — army training
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. ball — a great time
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — a trail
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ball — a dance
  24. drill — the tool

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