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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. sharp — clever
  3. band — a music group
  4. face — part of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. content — the amount
  7. game — wild animals
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. band — a ring
  10. face — to point toward
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. content — happy
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — a match
  22. stand — to bear
  23. capital — a city
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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