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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mark — a trace
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. net — for catching
  11. tube — the underground
  12. scale — in music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. net — after costs
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. tube — a container
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. net — in sport
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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