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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. present — a gift
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spell — magic
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. present — the time now
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — letters
  16. present — there
  17. rash — a series
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mark — a trace
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. rash — on the skin

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