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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. shower — rain
  7. game — a match
  8. club — for golf
  9. face — part of the head
  10. game — wild animals
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. club — a group
  13. firm — a company
  14. firm — steady
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — to wash
  17. firm — decided
  18. club — for dancing
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. face — to point toward
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. face — to confront
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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