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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. roll — a cake
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — government
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. last — final
  14. plane — a tool
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. game — a match
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. last — to go on
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. last — finally
  23. deal — to handle
  24. roll — a list

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