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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spring — the season
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rule — government
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rule — a law
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. key — in music
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. game — a match
  13. net — for catching
  14. ground — the earth
  15. net — after costs
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ground — crushed
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — in sport
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — of water
  24. squash — to crush

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