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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. present — the time now
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. board — to get on
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. capital — a city
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. press — to push
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. present — a gift
  14. kick — in football
  15. capital — money
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. present — there
  18. game — a match
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — after costs
  22. press — newspapers
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — a committee

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