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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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 — a match
  3. cell — in biology
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. face — to confront
  6. pop — soda
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. pop — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. sharp — clever
  11. content — the amount
  12. pop — to visit
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rule — government
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rule — a law
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. face — to point toward

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