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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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 — for dancing
  3. bound — certain
  4. game — a match
  5. club — for golf
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. race — a contest
  10. stock — goods
  11. race — humankind
  12. shower — to wash
  13. lean — to bend
  14. stock — shares
  15. game — wild animals
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. branch — a division
  19. lean — thin
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. club — a group
  23. shower — rain
  24. lean — to rest against

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