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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. degree — from a university
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. object — an aim
  5. club — for golf
  6. ground — a position
  7. last — to go on
  8. fork — in a road
  9. last — final
  10. object — a thing
  11. club — for dancing
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. object — to protest
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. ground — crushed
  19. club — a group
  20. last — finally
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — the earth
  24. degree — an amount

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