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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pass — a permit
  4. object — to protest
  5. net — after costs
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — a match
  9. hand — help
  10. game — wild animals
  11. clip — to cut
  12. object — an aim
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. net — in sport
  22. object — a thing
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. clip — a video

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