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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mug — to rob
  3. object — a thing
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bat — the animal
  7. drill — a practice
  8. file — a document
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a tool
  15. object — to protest
  16. face — to confront
  17. drill — the tool
  18. game — a match
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rush — hurry
  21. object — an aim
  22. drill — army training
  23. game — wild animals
  24. file — a line of people

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