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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 120 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — the tool
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. march — the month
  11. net — after costs
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. march — the month
  20. net — for catching
  21. rest — what's left
  22. drill — army training
  23. net — in sport
  24. rest — a break

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