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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pop — music
  4. track — a song
  5. rule — a law
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. track — a path
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. kid — child
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. track — to keep track
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bark — to shout
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lean — to bend
  19. pop — soda
  20. lean — thin
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mine — for digging
  24. game — a match

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