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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. firm — a company
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. game — a match
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. saw — the tool
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. firm — decided
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hand — help
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. firm — steady
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. season — of the year
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — wild animals

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