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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. march — music
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — wild animals
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. track — to keep track
  14. root — of a word
  15. mine — for digging
  16. charge — electricity
  17. root — of a plant
  18. game — a match
  19. march — the month
  20. track — a song
  21. charge — in control
  22. root — the cause
  23. track — a path
  24. charge — a price

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