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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. game — wild animals
  8. present — the time now
  9. court — of a king
  10. present — there
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — a gift
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — moving air
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. board — a committee
  21. court — for sport
  22. lean — to bend
  23. board — to get on
  24. court — of law

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