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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. club — a group
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. race — the arms race
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — for golf
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. race — a contest
  14. degree — an amount
  15. band — a ring
  16. game — a match
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. degree — from a university
  22. game — wild animals
  23. race — humankind
  24. band — a rubber band

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