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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spell — magic
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cold — an illness
  6. current — electric
  7. spell — letters
  8. current — happening now
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. dip — to sink
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ball — a dance
  16. current — of water
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. saw — the tool
  24. dip — a sauce

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