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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. band — a ring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — a match
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. march — music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitch — completely
  24. band — a music group

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