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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. staff — a stick
  3. clip — for paper
  4. game — wild animals
  5. race — a contest
  6. clip — a video
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lie — to recline
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ball — a great time
  12. staff — employees
  13. game — a match
  14. ball — a dance
  15. race — the arms race
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. race — humankind
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. staff — employees
  24. clip — to cut

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