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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 ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. game — wild animals
  4. root — of a word
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — music
  8. fall — the season
  9. charge — in control
  10. root — the cause
  11. march — the month
  12. root — of a plant
  13. march — music
  14. charge — a price
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. swing — to play on
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fall — to drop
  19. charge — electricity
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fall — to drop
  23. row — a line
  24. game — a match

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