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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rest — what's left
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. race — humankind
  7. root — of a word
  8. cap — a lid
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cap — of ice
  11. rest — a break
  12. root — the cause
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. root — of a plant
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cap — a hat
  17. plane — a tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rest — what's left
  20. dip — to sink
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. race — a contest

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