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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cap — a hat
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rock — a stone
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — not warm
  9. net — in sport
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. fine — all right
  13. game — a match
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rock — music
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cell — in biology
  22. net — after costs
  23. cell — a phone
  24. net — for catching

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