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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — a match
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kick — in football
  9. press — to push
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wind — moving air
  12. scale — in music
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — a contest
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. press — newspapers

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