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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. row — to paddle
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. clip — a video
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bear — the animal
  13. drill — a practice
  14. game — a match
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. ground — crushed
  17. clip — for paper
  18. shower — rain
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. clip — to cut
  21. row — a line
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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