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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. game — a match
  4. race — humankind
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. net — in sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. row — to paddle
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — after costs
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. race — a contest
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. game — wild animals
  24. net — for catching

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