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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 120 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. firm — decided
  3. clip — to cut
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. swing — in golf
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. object — to protest
  11. rush — hurry
  12. firm — steady
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. game — wild animals
  15. object — a thing
  16. firm — a company
  17. swing — to play on
  18. game — a match
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. object — an aim
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — a video
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. coach — a trainer

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