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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. toast — bread
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wound — an injury
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. game — wild animals
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. foot — a measure
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. branch — a division
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. game — a match
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. wake — a trail
  20. kick — in football
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. shower — rain
  24. wound — an injury

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