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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rock — music
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cap — of ice
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rock — a stone
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lean — to bend
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. spring — of water
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. spring — the season
  22. lean — thin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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