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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. craft — boats
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hand — help
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — a container
  8. pop — music
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. scale — in music
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — a skill
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pop — soda
  18. present — the time now
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. game — a match
  22. pop — to visit
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hand — in cards

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