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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ 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. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. march — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tube — the underground
  8. track — a song
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. march — the month
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. stock — goods
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. track — to keep track
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bear — the animal
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stock — shares
  20. tube — a container
  21. march — the month
  22. track — a path
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hide — to keep secret

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