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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cold — an illness
  3. land — ground
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. game — wild animals
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stock — shares
  9. land — to come down
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. root — of a plant
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. root — the cause
  16. stock — goods
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. land — a country
  20. game — a match
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. root — of a word
  23. hand — help
  24. bay — a horse colour

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