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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. club — a group
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — a video
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. game — a match
  16. bank — of a river
  17. squash — to crush
  18. fall — the season
  19. club — for golf
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rest — a break
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fall — to drop
  24. squash — the sport

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