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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. track — a path
  3. fall — to drop
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a line
  7. can — a tin
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. march — the month
  11. game — wild animals
  12. track — to keep track
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bass — low music
  16. row — to paddle
  17. can — a tin
  18. game — a match
  19. march — music
  20. fall — the season
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fall — to drop
  23. track — a song
  24. bass — the fish

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