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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. suit — clothes
  3. craft — a skill
  4. suit — in cards
  5. game — a match
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fall — the season
  8. suit — to fit
  9. net — for catching
  10. game — wild animals
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. clip — a video
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — low music
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — for paper
  19. craft — boats
  20. clip — to cut
  21. net — after costs
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. field — farmland
  24. fall — to drop

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