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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. firm — a company
  5. key — in music
  6. rule — a law
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cell — a phone
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. firm — steady
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. firm — decided
  23. rule — government
  24. game — a match

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