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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. file — a document
  3. firm — decided
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — an amount
  6. net — for catching
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cue — a signal
  10. net — after costs
  11. firm — a company
  12. cue — for pool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cue — a hint
  16. game — a match
  17. net — in sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. cell — in biology
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cap — a lid
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. cap — a hat

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