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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — in sport
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — a match
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rash — a series
  11. hand — help
  12. kid — child
  13. board — a committee
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. board — to get on
  17. net — after costs
  18. bulb — for light
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. net — for catching
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. game — wild animals
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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