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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. clip — to cut
  5. game — a match
  6. drill — a practice
  7. squash — the sport
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — army training
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pop — music
  15. drill — the tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — a break
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pop — to visit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pop — soda
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mine — belonging to me

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