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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. court — of a king
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bore — to drill
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — for sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. hand — in cards
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a match
  20. hand — help
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. court — of law
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bore — to tire

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