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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. date — the fruit
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. tear — from crying
  8. object — an aim
  9. ground — a position
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — to handle
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chest — a box
  15. ground — crushed
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. object — to protest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ground — the earth
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. object — a thing
  23. game — a match
  24. deal — an agreement

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