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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rash — hasty
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stock — goods
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — a short time
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. board — a committee
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. board — to get on
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. game — a match
  15. spell — magic
  16. rash — a series
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. race — the arms race
  19. spell — letters
  20. race — a contest
  21. game — wild animals
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. race — humankind

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