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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spring — of water
  3. rest — what's left
  4. object — to protest
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. object — an aim
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — a match
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rest — what's left
  17. object — a thing
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kid — child
  20. scale — in music
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. game — wild animals
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bat — the animal

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