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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bore — to tire
  5. object — to protest
  6. degree — temperature
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. scale — size or range
  9. game — a match
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bore — to drill
  13. degree — from a university
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rest — a break
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. scale — in music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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