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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mate — a friend
  9. chair — a leader
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — a match
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. deal — to handle
  24. mate — a partner

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