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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fall — the season
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. game — a match
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. club — for golf
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. file — a tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. file — a document
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stock — goods
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. stock — shares
  21. file — a line of people
  22. saw — the tool
  23. game — wild animals
  24. club — a group

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