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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pit — a hole
  5. content — happy
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. game — a match
  10. fall — the season
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pit — in a race
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. content — the amount
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chair — a leader
  23. branch — a division
  24. pitcher — a jug

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